The proposed Florence Copper Project could produce as much as half of the 2.8 billion pounds of copper reserves at the 300 foot deep deposit through in situ processes, according to a lengthy description of the project in the TriValley Central.com newspaper site.
Mine operator Curis Resources Ltd. plans on spending $45 million over the next two years to bring the project online for a possible 15-20 year production run. [right, project site. Credit, Curis Resources]
The company says the in situ methods will dramatically reduce or eliminate many of the environmental and other impacts associated with open pit mines.