PT Merdeka Copper Gold Tbk (MDKA) recorded a significant increase in indicated resources to 755 million tons, at the Tujuh Bukit Copper Project located in Banyuwangi, East Java.

This figure has increased by more than 300 million tons or 71% from the previous indicated resources, which were recorded at 442 million tons.

The total mineral resource content (indicated and inferred) of this project increased from 1.706 to 1.738 billion tonnes, with a copper content of 0.47% and gold of 0.5 gr/tons.

This increase in the number of mineral resources converts indicated mineral resources from 2.7 million tonnes of copper to 4.5 million tonnes of copper and from 9.4 million ounces of gold to 16.1 million ounces of gold.

Thus, the total mineral resources of the Tujuh Bukit Copper Project, which originally contained 8.1 million tonnes of copper and 27.4 million ounces of gold, currently contain 8.2 million tonnes of copper and 27.9 million ounces of gold.

General Manager of Merdeka Copper Gold, Tom Malik said that the significant increase in resources for the Tujuh Bukit Copper Project developed by the Merdeka Group is proof of the strong commitment to the transformation of business units from projects and operations currently underway. In particular, towards prestigious world-class mining projects and operations with long mine lives.

Apart from resource discoveries, Merdeka Copper Gold is also carrying out a fairly massive exploration process around licensed operations to continue to discover other potential mineral resources in an effective and efficient manner.

"Currently, Merdeka is focused on optimizing performance and starting to prepare a bankable feasibility study that can be more reliable. This optimization includes metallurgical development to increase the recovery of metal that can be extracted from ore and improve the quality of the ore mined. In its implementation, Merdeka is committed to continuing to improve efforts-sustainability," he said, Thursday (28/3/2024).

As is known, the Tujuh Bukit Copper Project is one of the largest copper projects in the world and is still in the pre-production phase. Merdeka owns 100% of the shares in the project located under the Tujuh Bukit Gold Mine, Banyuwangi, East Java, which is operated by a subsidiary, PT Bumi Suksesindo.

Since 2018, Merdeka has invested US$ 176 million in detailed feasibility studies, including 1,890 meters of exploration, drilling to define resources, geological modelling, technical studies, and a pre-feasibility study (PFS), which was completed in May 2023.

The PFS confirms the high economic benefits of developing this underground mine, which is long-lived and globally significant with a phased approach.

At the peak production, Tujuh Bukit Copper Project will process 24 million tons of ore per year to produce more than 112 thousand tons of copper and 366 thousand ounces of gold per year for more than 30 years.

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