Tartana Minerals Ltd. has completed the heap leach pad restack program at the Tartana Mining Leases in North Queensland ahead of restarting production of copper sulphate at the site.
The company confirmed that approximately 50,000 tonnes of copper-mineralised pit fill has been excavated and stacked onto the lower heap leach pad.
The program was specifically designed to target high-grade zones in the eastern section of the pit, where recent test work identified leachable copper grades of up to 1 per cent. Preliminary readings from the newly stacked material have remained consistent with an expected average grade of 0.22 per cent.
In addition to the earthworks, a critical infrastructure upgrade is entering its final stages. Tartana is currently installing a new chiller circuit, an essential component for the crystallisation process within the plant’s Solvent Extraction circuit.
The upgrade follows an independent metallurgical review and represents a portion of a AU$435,000 capital expenditure commitment.
Site installation of the chiller is described as imminent, with full commissioning expected within the next two weeks.
The upgrade is designed to improve plant reliability and support more consistent copper sulphate pentahydrate throughput toward a nameplate capacity of approximately 350 tonnes per month.
The restart comes at a time of significant strength for the copper market. With London Metal Exchange (LME) copper prices currently hovering above US$13,000 per tonne, Tartana expects to realise sale prices between AU$4,500 and AU$5,000 per tonne for its product.
The company has secured a 100 per cent offtake agreement with Kanins International, with the first shipment targeted for mid-May 2026. This agreement effectively de-risks the commercial side of the operation by providing a guaranteed buyer at market-linked prices.
Despite global supply chain volatility, the company remains confident in its near-term operations.
Tartana has confirmed it holds sufficient stockpiles of essential inputs, including sulphuric acid and diesel, to sustain the plant through the initial production phase.
Beyond immediate revenue, the removal of the pit-fill overburden also clears the way for the company to access primary copper resources at the base of the pit in the future.