According to the company, the Canariaco Norte deposit hosts a total resource of 820 million mt, grading an average of 0.45% Cu above a cut-off of 0.3% Cu and containing 8.1 billion lb of copper. Of the total resource, approximately 31% has been categorized as Measured, approximately 47% has been categorized as Indicated and the balance (22%) is Inferred. The resource comprises approximately 45% soluble copper (in oxide plus chalcocite) and approximately 55% refractory copper (in chalcopyrite). The deposit is known to be open at depth and both to the north and to the south.

Within the reported resource, MineFill has optimized a higher grade starter pit for quick payback that contains some 104.6 million mt of Measured and Indicated resources, grading an average of 0.60% total copper and contains 1.4 billion lb of copper. The starter pit resources represent approximately 10% of the total mineral resource at Canariaco Norte.

Of the total starter pit resource, approximately 61% has been categorized as Measured, approximately 36% has been categorized as Indicated and the balance (3%) is Inferred. The resource comprises approximately 61% soluble copper (in oxide plus chalcocite) and approximately 39% refractory (in chalcopyrite). The average strip ratio in the starter pit is estimated to be 1.3:1.

The development model being pursued at Canariaco Norte will employ open-pit contract mining, crushing, heap leaching of chalcocite, copper oxide and chalcopyrite mineralization, and a solvent extraction (SX) and electrowinning (EW) plant. LME Grade Leach testing by Kappes, Cassiday & Associates of Reno, Nevada, shows 75% to 80% recovery of the soluble copper fraction is possible using conventional acid leaching, after 220 days. Recovery of copper from the sulphide fraction over the same period averages 40%.