WOODY vs. Taca Taca: Cost Analysis of the 2026 Technical Report

First Quantum Minerals’ 2026 Technical Report for the Taca Taca Copper Gold Project outlines the development case for one of the largest undeveloped copper assets in the Americas. Located in Argentina’s Salta Province, the project carries the scale of a tier-one porphyry development, with reported capital costs of US$8,690M and operating costs of US$18.09/ore tonne. Projects of this size involve broad scope decisions around power, water, transport, and closure that can make headline cost figures difficult to compare without careful normalization.

Costmine Intelligence used WOODY, our proprietary benchmarking platform, to replicate Taca Taca’s core assumptions and generate independent capital and operating estimates built from current market rates, location-adjusted inputs, and a fully scoped cost structure. WOODY applies consistent logic across labor, equipment, materials, energy, and indirects, stripping out scope items that fall outside its methodology so the comparison reflects a true like-for-like view.

The result: WOODY estimates total capital costs at US$6,896.7M against Taca Taca’s comparable figure of US$6,937.5M once scope items are normalized, a difference of less than 1%. On operating costs, WOODY’s estimate of US$16.57/ore tonne sits about 8% below Taca Taca’s reported US$18.09/ore tonne, a modest gap reflecting differences in how indirect costs and overhead are allocated.

This analysis highlights a different kind of benchmarking outcome from projects where independent and company estimates diverge sharply. Convergence at this level signals that the project’s cost framework holds up under independent scrutiny.

Fill out the form to access the full Excel file, which includes line-by-line WOODY capital cost outputs, an operating cost breakdown by category, direct comparisons with Taca Taca’s disclosed figures, core modeling assumptions, and life-of-mine cumulative cost comparisons.

Whether you’re evaluating a development-stage asset, reviewing a technical report, or assessing investment risk, this file provides a transparent, apples-to-apples view of how internal estimates compare to independently benchmarked project costs.