South African copper producer Copper 360 has moved a significant step closer to commercial production after announcing that underground development at its Rietberg mine in the Northern Cape has passed the halfway mark, with the company expecting to reach its first ore body within the next 90 days.
The milestone marks important progress on the company's approximately $50 million (R874 million) underground mining programme, bringing the project closer to transitioning from the capital-intensive mine development phase into revenue-generating copper production.
Copper 360 said underground development has advanced beyond the halfway point of the original 544-metre target, with work progressing in line with the mine plan following the mobilisation of mining contractor Cementation Africa on July 1.
At current advance rates, the company expects to intersect the ore body on the mine's 300 Level by September.
Reaching the ore will provide access to a defined copper block that is expected to supply feed to the company's processing plant, marking the shift from waste development to on-ore mining and production build-up.
