Altus Strategies plc said higher prices and production resulted in a record quarterly royalty pre-tax income of US$1.54 million for Q1 2022 from the Caserones copper mine in northern Chile.
CASERONES
The Caserones mine is a large, open-pit copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit, located within a 17,000 hectare land package approximately 4,300m above sea level in the borough of Tierra Amarilla, in the Atacama region.
The mine is owned and operated by SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile SpA, an indirect 100% owned subsidiary of JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation of Japan.
LIFE OF MINE
The company, which has an effective 0.418% net smelter return royalty interest on the project, added that the figure was a 24% rise quarter on quarter.
Altus also noted that the mine operator now forecast an increase in mine life from 17 to 28 years based on its most recent declaration of reserves.
The company added it had now received $5.1m of Caserones pre-tax royalty income since the acquisition.
STRATEGY
Chief executive Steven Poulton said that, given no exploration drilling had reportedly been undertaken at Caserones since 2005, the mine life could potentially be further extended.
“The royalty we own on Caserones has delivered strong income to Altus of US$5.1 million and generated significant upside potential in the very short timeframe since we acquired it in September 2021.
“This performance not only reflects the quality of the Caserones asset, but also validates our royalty acquisition strategy and methodology.
“We continue to assess opportunities to grow our royalty portfolio in line with this strategy and further enhance our revenue streams.”