Coda Minerals boosts Elizabeth Creek copper-cobalt project valuation to $735m following new scoping study

Coda Minerals (ASX: COD) has reported that a scoping study for its Elizabeth Creek copper-cobalt project in South Australia boosted the project’s net present value (NPV) by $165 million to $735m.

This is a 29% increase in NPV compared to the scoping study published last March.

The 701 sq km Elizabeth Creek project sits within the Gawler Craton’s Olympic Dam copper province and is located 30km from Woomera, 100km from the BHP (ASX: BHP) Olympic Dam mine and 50km from that company’s Carrapateenna copper-gold mine.

The company says that the introduction of mechanical cutting at Emmie Bluff, one of three deposits within Elizabeth Creek along with MG14 and Windabout, will both reduce mining costs and increase annual production by 20%.

Cheaper acid neutralisation and flotation reagents will also substantially reduce processing costs.

Funding options

Since the release of its initial scoping study in 2023, Coda has been pursuing measures to improve project economics.

Chief executive officer Chris Stevens said the company has made excellent progress actively investigating financing options.

He said the updated scoping study demonstrates that Elizabeth Creek can produce 25,400 tonnes of copper per annum and 1,300tpa of cobalt.

“By any measure, this is an excellent result and demonstrates that Elizabeth Creek remains an attractive development opportunity in what has the potential to be a huge copper bull market as the world pursues decarbonisation,” he added.

Development estimate

Coda says that to achieve the range of outcomes indicated in the scoping study financing in the order of $540m will likely be needed.

However, the company warns that there is no certainty it will be able to raise that amount.

It is also possible that Coda could pursue other strategies such as a sale, partial sale, or joint venture.