Skip to main content

United States

Copper World COMPLEX

Primary Metal

Copper

Measured and Indicated Resource

1.2 billion tonnes

Inferred Resource

275 million tonnes

Expected Mine Life

20 years
(phase one)

Expected Annual Production

85,000 tonnes copper
(phase one)

Expected Mine Type

Open Pit

Mason

Primary Metal

Copper

Measured and Indicated Resource

2.2 billion tonnes

Expected Mine Type

Open Pit

Click Here to read the Copper World PFS News Release
Click Here to read the Copper World PFS Presentation

Hudbay’s US properties are the Copper World Complex, located in Arizona, and the Mason project, located in Nevada.

The Copper World deposits were discovered in 2021 and are located predominately on our wholly owned patented mining claims adjacent to our East deposit. The discovery drill program was initiated in 2020 to confirm historic drilling and after receiving encouraging results, we launched a larger drill program in 2021 which results in an initial mineral resource estimate.

Hudbay has been acquiring additional private land in the area to support an operation entirely on private land. The company now holds approximately 5,500 acres of private land and patented mining claims, which is enough to support the first 20 years of production at the Copper World Complex.

Following the recent exploration success on patented mining claims and ongoing litigation uncertainty regarding the project design set forth in the 2017 feasibility study for the East deposit, Hudbay began to evaluate alternative design options to unlock value within this prospective district in Arizona. This led to the release of a robust preliminary economic study for the Copper World Complex in June 2022. The study contemplates a two-phased mine plan with the first phase reflecting a standalone operation with processing infrastructure on Hudbay’s private land and mining occurring on patented mining claims with a defined two-phased mine plan. This strategy was designed to split Phase I requiring only state and local permits to advance the project and separate out the federal land permitting requirements needed for expansion in Phase II. In September 2023, Hudbay released the enhanced Pre-Feasibility Study outlining the company's intentions for Phase 1, to develop a standalone open-pit operation requiring only state and local permits for an extended 20-year mine life.

The Mason deposit, acquired in late 2018, is one of the largest undeveloped copper resources in the Americas. It is similar in scale to Constancia and Hudbay released a robust preliminary economic study on Mason in April 2021.

Fact

The Copper World Complex will support U.S. copper supply through onsite production of copper cathode expected to be sold entirely to domestic customers and reduce energy consumption, GHG and sulfur emissions associated with overseas shipping and processing.

Green Economy

From solar panels to electric vehicles—copper is a key element in de-carbonization efforts and the shift to renewable energy sources. Hudbay will support America's transition to a cleaner future, by providing the copper we need to build the innovative products and technologies that will power our new sustainable future.

The Copper World Complex has been designed to meet the growing copper demand in the U.S. through the onsite production of “Made in America” copper cathode which is expected to be sold entirely to domestic U.S. customers.

Environment

The company estimates that the Copper World Complex will reduce total energy consumption by more than 10%, including a more than 30% decline in energy consumption relating to downstream processing when compared to a project design that produces copper concentrates for overseas smelting and refining. The lower energy consumption would result in a 14% reduction in scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (“GHG") emissions.

Hudbay is targeting further reduction in GHG emissions at Copper World as part of our corporate emissions reduction targets to align with the global 50% by 2030 climate change goal.

People

As the next chapter of Arizona mining, the Copper World Complex will stimulate billions in new economic activity statewide. Locally, Hudbay will create thousands of new direct and indirect, high-paying jobs for Arizonans and ensure the future of Arizona mining remains strong.

Reserves and resources - Copper World

Copper World Project Mineral Resource Estimate as at September 8, 2023

Copper World Project


Mineral Resource Estimates1,2,3,4,5 		Tonnes Cu Grade
(%) 		CuSS Grade
(%) 		Mo Grade
(g/t) 		Au Grade
(g/t) 		Ag Grade
(g/t)
Proven reserves 319,000,000 0.54 0.11 110 0.03 5.68
Probable reserves 66,000,000 0.52 0.14 96 0.02 4.31
Total Proven and Probable Reserves 385,000,000 0.52 0.12 108 0.02 5.44
Measured resources 888,000,000 0.43 0.10 121 0.02 4.46
Indicated resources 317,000,000 0.38 0.10 108 0.02 3.52
Total Resources
Measured and Indicated 1,205,000,000 0.42 0.10 117 0.02 4.22
Inferred 275,000,000 0.32 0.10 106 0.01 2.82

Note: totals may not add up correctly due to rounding.
1 Mineral resource estimates are inclusive of mineral reserves and have been calculated using assumed long-term metal prices of $3.75 per pound copper, $12.00 per pound molybdenum, $1,650 per ounce gold and $22.00 per ounce silver.
2 Mineral resource estimates that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral resource estimates are based on resource pit design and do not include factors for mining recovery or dilution.
3 Mineral resource estimates are constrained to a Lerch Grossman pit shell with a revenue factor of 1.0 or inside the reserve pit.
4 Mineral resource estimates are using a 0.1% soluble copper cut-off grade and an oxidation ratio higher than 50% for leach material.

Reserves and resources - Mason

Mason Project Mineral Resource Estimate as at January 1, 2023

Mason Project


Mineral Resource Estimates1,2,3,4,5		 Tonnes Cu Grade
(%)		 Mo Grade
(g/t)		 Au Grade
(g/t)		 Ag Grade
(g/t)
Measured 1,417,000,000 0.29 59 0.031 0.66
Indicated 801,000,000 0.30 80 0.025 0.57
Total Measured and Indicated 2,219,000,000 0.29 67 0.029 0.63
Inferred 237,000,000 0.24 78 0.033 0.73

Note: totals may not add up correctly due to rounding.
1 Mineral resource estimates that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
2 Mineral resource estimates do not include factors for mining recovery or dilution.
3 Metal prices of $3.10 per pound copper, $11.00 per pound molybdenum, $1,500 per ounce gold, and $18.00 per ounce silver were used to estimate mineral resources.
4 Mineral resources are estimated using a minimum NSR cut-off of $6.25 per tonne.
5 Mineral resources are based on resource pit designs containing measured, indicated, and inferred mineral resources.

Latest Report

Technical Reports

View all

Contact Information

Contact Us

Hudbay Minerals Inc.
25 York Street, Suite 800
Toronto , ON M5J 2V5
Canada