More than 300 tonnes of LME Grade A copper cathode has been stripped from the recently commissioned 25,000 tonnes per annum copper cathode solvent extraction electrowinning (SX-EW) plant at Finders Resources Wetar Copper Project in Indonesia.

The rate of copper cathode stripping continues to increase as production levels from the SX-EW plant ramp up.

Concurrently, the existing 3000 tonnes/annum copper cathode SX-EW continues to perform at capacity during June, bringing the total combined site total to approximately 550 tonnes of copper cathode.

During June the Finders’ Board along with representatives of the project partner Posco Daewoo completed a visit to the site on Wetar Island where they were able to inspect the new plant and view the stripping of copper cathode for shipment to market.

Finders’ managing director Barry Cahill said, “Copper cathode production continues to increase at Wetar following commissioning of our new 25,000 tonne SX-EW plant and further increases are expected in July as our project staff focus on ramping up production.”

ASX-listed Finders is the operator of the Wetar project (72% interest) and the Ojalali Gold-Silver Project (72% interest), both in Indonesia.

The Wetar project comprises the development, open pit mining and processing of the high-grade sulphide deposits at Kali Kuning and Lerokis, which are within 3km of the coast on Wetar Island. The project benefits from having existing infrastructure in place, particularly a wharf, camp and roads, and partially pre-stripped copper ore bodies from a prior gold mining era.

Opportunities for extending the mine life are strongly founded on exploration upside, focusing initially on the nearby satellite Meron deposit and other identified VMS and gold targets on the island, including Karkopang.