Blue Moon’s 13‑year Nussir copper mine: economics and schedule for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Blue Moon Metals’ updated feasibility study for the Nussir copper project in northern Norway outlines a 13‑year underground operation producing an average 19,000 tonnes CuEq per year, including 3,600 oz gold and 546,000 oz silver, from measured and indicated resources of 28.72 million tonnes at 1.2% CuEq. The base case gives an after‑tax NPV8 of $235 million, 19% IRR and initial capex of $184 million, with copper accounting for 77% of payable metal. Hot commissioning of the process plant is targeted for Q3 2027, with first production in December 2027 and scope to extend mine life using inferred resources and the separate Ulveryggen deposit.
Technical Brief
- Feasibility study considers only the underground Nussir deposit; Ulveryggen resources are excluded from economics.
- Measured and indicated resources of 28.72 Mt at 1.2% CuEq include ~25 Mt proven and probable at 0.99% CuEq.
- Deposit remains open to the west and at depth, with 200 m step-out drilling at >1,000 m depth ongoing.
- Scenario using 50% of inferred resources adds 5 years’ mine life and lifts NPV by an estimated 52%.
- Long-term price deck underpinning the case uses US$4.78/lb Cu, US$3,515/oz Au and US$45.26/oz Ag.
- Payable metal revenue split is heavily copper-weighted: 77% Cu, 6% Au and 13% Ag.
- Nussir is a brownfield redevelopment of a 1970s operation that mined four shear-hosted open pits until 1979.
- Blue Moon acquired Nussir in late 2024 to rebalance away from its California zinc project toward near-production copper.
Our Take
Blue Moon Metals’ move into the Nussir copper project in northern Norway follows its acquisition of the Apex gallium‑germanium‑copper mine in Utah, signalling a strategy of building a portfolio of polymetallic assets with both base and critical metals exposure across the US and Europe.
An initial capex of about US$184 million for Nussir against a market capitalisation near US$710 million suggests Blue Moon has balance-sheet capacity to advance the project without immediately resorting to highly dilutive equity, though the 13‑year mine life and 0.99–1.2% CuEq grades mean project finance will likely hinge on securing robust copper and silver offtake terms.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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