The old Trekelano mine is set to provide Carnaby Resources’ first copper ore for Glencore at its mature Mount Isa processing facilities as soon as next year.

The site is near Carnaby’s discoveries in the Greater Duchess area about 70km south-east of Mount Isa.

While yet to be included in the Greater Duchess studies, the recently acquired Trekelano site (pictured above) had exposed zones that would meet Glencore’s requirement for ore to produce a clean concentrate, Carnaby non-executive chairman Peter Bowler told the Diggers & Dealers Forum in Kalgoorlie.

This ore would leave the Duchess siding for railing to Mount Isa.

In his presentation Mr Bowler said toll milling and offtake agreements were in place with Glencore but it also had the stand-alone development option and this ‘will form an integral part of longer-term studies.’

Related: Carnaby buys out Greater Duchess JV partner

What is now in boardroom thinking is the importance of integrating work on the old Trekelano copper mine and aged infrastructure as Carnaby continues to add to its regional ore inventory.

Carnaby’s scoping studies to date do not yet include Trekelano but provide a nine-year production target of 7.5 million tonnes at 1.9 per cent copper equivalent for 140 kt of copper equivalent. 

This takes in a three-year Greater Duchess open pit average of 1.1 Mt at 1.7 per cent Cu Eq, for 19Ktpa.

The estimated pre-tax internal rate of return would be 141 per cent.

The group resource for Greater Duchess has lifted in the past year by 27 per cent  to a resource of 27 Mt at 1.5 percent Cu Eq for 400,000t Cu Eq.

Mr Bowler said the Queensland Government was keen to support Carnaby’s development as it would provide fresh material for the Mount Isa complex.

He said Trekelano had a known reserve of 5.2 Mt at 1 per cent Cu Eq with deeper ore of a higher grade.

Mount Hope has been a successful search target and Mr Bowler said it was the apple in the eye of managing director Rod Watkins. 

The potential of Nil Desperandum and Lady Fanny deposits have high-grade hits and Burke and Wills was providing promising results.

A pertinent issue now is the future of the huge but aging processing facilities at Mount Isa as Glencore’s smelter is being considered for closure.

Reporting on the Diggers & Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie, The Australian newspaper interviewed Evolution Mining’s chief executive Laurie Conway who reportedly claimed it was nonsensical for the Albanese Government to pursue lofty renewable targets with the Mount Isa smelter and refinery on the brink of closure, with Australia needing to revitalise its manufacturing sector while battling high labour and energy costs.

Mr Conway reportedly said if the copper smelter closed it would never reopen and the country would be consigned to importing processed copper required for its mandated renewable energy projects.