Meridian Mining (LSE:MNO) will join the FTSE 250 index from 1 October, following an announcement by index provider FTSE Russell.
The London- and Toronto-listed company is developing the Cabaçal gold-copper-silver project in Mato Grosso, Brazil, a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit it is advancing toward project finance.
The index inclusion follows closely on Meridian's definitive feasibility study for Cabaçal, published earlier this month, which reported an after-tax net present value of $2.09 billion and an internal rate of return of 108%. That study, based on base case prices of $3,570 per ounce gold and $5.03 per pound copper, projected payback within 0.9 years and set initial capital expenditure at $322 million.
Meridian has since begun civil works on water management infrastructure and the tailings storage facility at Cabaçal, and secured an installation licence for the power line connecting the project to the grid, with construction targeted for the first quarter of 2027 subject to financing.
"It has been a great few weeks for the Company, after we released our definitive feasibility study, confirming the potential of our flagship Cabaçal project in Brazil," said chief executive Gilbert Clark.