Marimaca Copper Appoints Ausenco to Lead Definitive Feasibility Study for Flagship Marimaca Project

About Marimaca Copper Corp.

Marimaca Copper Corp. is a Canadian exploration and development company focused on advancing its flagship Marimaca copper project located in the Antofagasta region of northern Chile. The company was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Marimaca Copper’s shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MARI.

Marimaca Project Overview

The Marimaca project is an oxide, open-pit, heap leach copper development with significant upside potential. Highlights of the project include:

• Simple heap leach process flowsheet with low strip ratio
• Strong economics with 2020 PEA estimating AISC of $1.26/lb over first 5 years
• Significant exploration potential remaining with only 20% of prospective area drilled
• Prime infrastructure location, just 14km from the major port city of Antofagasta

The Marimaca deposit has a Measured and Indicated mineral resource of 420kt copper contained within 442Mt at an average grade of 0.60% CuT. Inferred resources add further intrigue at 90kt copper contained in 116Mt at an average grade of 0.42% CuT.

Metallurgical test work has demonstrated copper recoveries in the range of 76% to 82% from an open-pit heap leach operation over a 15-year mine life.

A Preliminary Economic Assessment released in July 2020 outlined strong project economics including:

• After-tax NPV8% of $459M
• After-tax IRR of 36%
• Average annual production of 37kt Cu (cathode)
• Low strip ratio of 1.1:1 (waste:ore)
• Life of mine AISC of $1.26/lb Cu

The PEA outlined a robust project with an initial capital expenditure of $244M to be paid back in under 3 years. While further upside remains via optimization and exploration, Marimaca has a clear path towards development.

Appointment of Ausenco for Definitive Feasibility Study

In October 2023, Marimaca Copper announced the appointment of Ausenco to lead the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the Marimaca project. Ausenco is a global engineering firm with deep expertise in Latin American mine development and copper projects in particular.

The appointment followed a competitive bidding process and extensive engagement between Marimaca and Ausenco. The key areas of focus for the DFS will include:

• Optimizing the geo-metallurgical model to enhance leach recoveries and lower acid consumption
• Throughput optimization, layout design and capex/opex refinement for the processing facilities
• Mine plan trade-off studies to optimize throughput, production rate and strip ratio
• Targeting leading sustainability metrics focused on carbon intensity, renewable power, and water efficiency

Ausenco will leverage its extensive project database and benchmarking to ensure a streamlined approach to engineering. The efforts will build on previous studies including the PEA which was also led by Ausenco. Their familiarity with the project and alignment on objectives provides continuity into this next phase.

Hayden Locke, President & CEO of Marimaca Copper, noted Ausenco's strong track record with recent copper projects in Chile. He highlighted the shared focus on capital efficiency and maximizing risk-adjusted returns.

Zimi Meka, CEO of Ausenco, noted Marimaca is an excellent fit with their capabilities and experience in the region. Ausenco believes Marimaca has the credentials to be the next major mine developed in Chile.

Path Forward

Completion of the DFS by mid-2024 will be a major de-risking event for Marimaca. With Ausenco's extensive project delivery experience, Marimaca will be taking another key step towards securing development funding and ultimately reaching construction.

Beyond the study work, Marimaca continues to execute drilling programs focused on converting Inferred resources to Measured and Indicated, as well as testing new target areas.

Conclusion

Marimaca Copper offers investors exposure to a near-term construction-ready copper development project. Led by an experienced management team, Marimaca controls a scarce oxide copper deposit in a premier mining jurisdiction.

With copper supply constraints looming, Marimaca provides leverage to higher long-term prices needed to incentivize new mine investment. The simple leach process flowsheet contributes to competitive opex and capex relative to global peers.

Upcoming catalysts include the Definitive Feasibility Study results in 2024 and ongoing exploration updates. Marimaca represents a unique copper vehicle that can offer investors commodity exposure combined with near-term construction potential.