PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Rothsay gold project, in Western Australia, would require a capital investment of some A$33.9-million to deliver around 211 000 oz of gold over a mine life of five-and-a-half years.

ASX-listed EganStreet Resources on Tuesday released the results of a prefeasibility study (PFS) into the project, which doubled the life-of-mine production target set in the 2016 scoping study.

The PFS estimated that the project will have a net present value of A$58.1-million and a capital pay-back period of around 23 months.

“The PFS is a significant improvement on the scoping study completed late last year, doubling the projected production profile and more than tripling the free cash flow of the Rothsay gold project with only a modest increase in the total funding requirement, which remains at a very low A$33.9-million including contingencies and working capital,” said EganStreet MD Marc Ducler.

“This is a great result which outlines a very clear and straightforward pathway to production and cash flow for the company. The high-quality PFS result will feed directly into the current definitive feasibility study, which is well advanced and expected to be completed late next quarter.”

Ducler said that the aggressive development timetable should allow EganStreet to secure financing and start project development and construction early next year, allowing first gold by the middle of 2018.

Meanwhile, EganStreet is also ramping up exploration activities at Rothsay, with a view to grow gold inventory and unlock the broader potential of the project. Drilling is currently under way targeting shallow up-plunge extensions of the main resource to the north, and subsequent drilling will target potential shallow mineralisation to the south of the resource.

“There is also outstanding potential to extend the deposit at depth and down plunge from future underground drilling positions, and in the surrounding area, to make new discoveries along parallel shear zones.

“Our strategy is to establish a clear pathway to production and cash flow while in parallel working hard to demonstrate the longer-term growth potential and upside of the Rothsay project,” said Ducler.