The US$325 million, 3.2 million tonne per annum Motheo mine is under construction with first copper production expected in the June quarter of next year.

“It’s on time, which is just extraordinary,” Simich told the Africa Down Under conference in Perth yesterday.

“It hasn’t missed a beat.”

Earlier this week, Sandfire approved an expanded 5.2Mtpa operation, incorporating the development of the A4 satellite deposit 8km away.

The cost to develop the A4 satellite resource and expand the plant is $71.9 million, including $24 million of pre-approved capex.

The 5.2Mtpa expansion definitive feasibility study was based on a combined total ore reserve for the T3 and A4 deposits of 49.6 million tonnes at 1% copper and 14 grams per tonne silver for 474,000 tonnes of copper and 21.3 million ounces of silver.

The expanded project has a 10-year life, producing 440,000t of copper at all-in sustaining costs of $1.79 per pound, peaking at 55,000t per annum in FY28.

The project has a pre-tax net present value (7% discount rate) of $548 million (post-tax $339 million), internal rate of return of 29% and payback period of 3.3 years.

The study was based on consensus metal prices of $3.57/lb of copper and $20 per ounce of silver.

As of July 31, Sandfire had already spent $185.4 million, or 47% of the total project cost of $397.4 million, with the remainder to be funded from cash and a new $140 million project debt facility from an international syndicate of banks.

First production from the expanded plant is expected in June 2024.

Simich said even the expanded project was just the start.

“What we’ve got here is the start of something we’ll be mining for many, many decades,” he said.

“It’s just the tip of the iceberg.”

What’s got Sandfire and analysts excited about the opportunity is the company’s dominant landholding in the Kalahari Copper Belt.

UBS analyst Levy Spry said the expansion DFS was in line with expectations but was still a “moderate project” until the larger regional picture developed.

“We’re still more attracted to the scale of the landholding and prospectivity surrounding the project,” he said.

Simich said the opportunity was vast, given the company’s 500km strike length of the underexplored belt.

Just 643 holes have been drilled in the area in 15 years, equating to one hole every 40sq.km.

The prospectivity of the belt has been further confirmed by Cobre’s nearby Ngami discovery, where wide intersections of visible copper has been recently found over a 4km strike length.

“This belt is awash with copper mineralisation,” Simich said.

“We’re undertaking a systematic, modern exploration program which it’s not had before.”

The company’s next priority target is the A1 Dome, 19km from Motheo, where previous results have included 19m at 0.8% copper and 130m at 0.5% copper.

Simich said the company was aiming for an accelerated rate of discovery in the belt.

“The best is yet to come,” he said.