Before I start I'll preface this with a warning. This isn't a space I usually play in but the youtube algorithm fed me something that really sparked my interest. Why CYM is a different copper producer
CYM is an Australian copper developer & explorer with a number of near term development projects focused in WA. What differentiates them from most other explorers is their highly credentialed team who have successfully developed previous sulphide heap leach copper projects to produce copper cathode onsite, I'll touch more on this later.
Projects currently held include - Nifty copper mine, Maroochydore copper project, Patterson copper project, Cue copper project, Nanadine well copper-gold project.
The Nifty copper project acquired in March of 2021 was first operational in 1993 as an open pit - heap leach project. In 2006 Nifty transition to an underground min and used flotation to produce copper concentrate until 2019 the mine was placed on care and maintenance.
CYM acquired this asset along with key critical infrastructure significantly reducing the restart costs. 2.8Mtpa sulphide concentrator, 25ktpa copper cathode heap leach, 21MW gas turnine power station, heavy vehicle workshop, onsite accommodation & a sealed airstrip.
CYM recently updated the market with the Nifty copper mineral resource update:
- Heap leachable resource increased to 11.9Mt @ 1.1% Cu = 135kt Cu
- Total measured resource increased to 45.9Mt @ 1.6% for 732kt Cu
- This places Nifty within the top 20 Australian copper resources
CYM have a goal of producing copper cathode onsite. Why should we believe what they say? The CYM management team have done exactly this when they operated Finders resources. Finders operated a heap lech copper sulphide plant @1.5% Cu on the Wetar Copper project in Indonesia. This mine produced 25,000t of Copper cathode pa. Finders were taken over by Eastern Field Developments Ltd in 2019, this is when management moved to positions at CYM. Although the grade of copper was higher on this project the copper price was significantly lower in 2019 compared to today.
Barry Cahill & Gary Comb (Ex Finders) hold 2.2% of shares on issue but of note company insiders have been buying on market at higher prices this year & own a total of 4% of SOI.
The current near term catalysts for share price movements include the Restart Study & Finance Process for the Nifty Project (Expected H2 2021). The restart study will provide much more clarity around the economics of the mine but I believe there's enough to take an educated guess of the value in the company.
The company currently has $40m cash on hand and are burning $10m per quarter in exploration and refurbishment of the Nifty plant and equipment. The company have outlined that it will be faster and involve 50% less capital to refurbish the current heap leach equipment onsite.
H1 22 Nifty Timeline: Purchase long lead items, commence construction, finalise approvals, earthworks & pre strip.
H2 22: Complete construction, commissioning, re-treatment heap leach stacking, open pit ore stacking.
H1 23 Production of copper plate onsite & ramp up.
I enjoyed looking into this company & learning about a space I don't usually bother with. The management team is a huge plus for this "explorer" who have a clear path to producing copper onsite.
