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AFRIcA DoWn UnDeR

T3 countdown on

decision is looming on the develop- swana is widely considered one of the
A ment of the T3 copper-silver project in best all-round mining jurisdictions in the
Botswana, Sandfire Resources Ltd man- world.
aging director Karl Simich said at Africa Furthermore, Sandfire is proving that
Down Under. T3 – 60mt @ 0.98% copper and 14 g/t
A feasibility study on T3 and a maiden silver – may just be an entrée to the buf-
resource estimate on the A4 Dome dis- fet of opportunities opening up in the
covery was expected in the December Kalahari Copper Belt.
quarter, as Sandfire enters a period of Just 8km away from T3 is the poten-
organic and inorganic growth. tially higher-grade A4 Dome prospect,
“Firstly, it is about getting Botswana which Simich believes could materially
Stage 1 into production and we’ll be impact the company’s production profile
making some decisions on that by the in Botswana.
end of this year at board level. We expect “It wouldn’t surprise us if the area ends Karl Simich
to make those and then be developing up with multiple production profiles and
and in construction through the course maybe 50-100,000 tpa copper produc- it has been well prepared,” Simich said.
of next year and essentially producing tion over an extended period of time, but “The Department of Minerals and En-
clean copper concentrate in early 2023 we need to get the first one started,” he ergy continue to call us seeking to under-
is our target,” Simich said. said. stand when we will be lodging our permit;
Multiple banks have shown interest An EIS for T3 has been approved and they are very much waiting for it. They
in being part of the T3 project financ- Sandfire will soon apply for a mining per- are excited to receive that. That has been
ing scenario, with Sandfire working on a mit. very positive, and we couldn’t be more
shortlist of parties in southern Africa, the “Our expectations are that we will soon delighted with our interaction with the
UK and Europe. submit our mining permit application and Government in Botswana.”
It is no surprise there is keen interest the statutory approval period is essen-
in T3 from several banks, given copper tially 30 days; we think it might take a little – Mark Andrews
is poised to appreciate in price and Bot- longer, but we don’t expect any delays as

Perth, Western Australia

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