Name of the Project
Woodlark gold project.

Location
Papua New Guinea.

Project Owner/s
Geopacific Resources.

Project Description
Geopacific has released an update for the Woodlark project, confirming improved economics for the shovel-ready project.

The update confirms that the project’s three mining areas – Kulumadau, Busai and Woodlark King – can be developed in a practical sequence to mine
1.1-million ounces of gold and provide sufficient feed for the processing plant for 13 years.

The process plant comprises a conventional carbon-in-leach circuit with a 2.4-million-tonne-a-year processing capacity. The execution update production schedule envisages 31-million tonnes of ore processed over the life-of-mine.

The major infrastructure requirements for the project include a process plant, a deep-sea tailings placement system, communications, an accommodation camp, roads, an airstrip, a mine services area, a mine openpit, a water supply dam and mine waste dumps.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project’s net present value has increased from A$197-million, at an 8% discount rate in the 2018 definitive feasibility study (DFS), to A$347-million in the 2020 execution update.

The project’s internal rate of return has increased from 29% in the 2018 DFS to 34% in the 2020 execution update.

Project payback has decreased from 2.2 years in the 2018 DFS to 1.8 years in the 2020 execution update.

Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at A$254.8-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The project duration is estimated to be 18 months from the financial investment decision date, excluding the early works programme that started in January 2020.

Latest Developments
Geopacific Resources is hoping to update the operating and capital cost estimate for its Woodlark gold project during 2023.

The company in May 2022 suspended all detailed engineering and civil works after warning of a material increase in the capital cost for the project, and outlined a business transformation plan focused on re-evaluating the future pathways for the project.

Geopacific has since completed 23 km of resource infill, extension and exploration drilling, updated the project’s mineral resource estimate, and conducted a strategic review after receiving several unsolicited approaches, which has resulted in the identification of potential development partners.

Geopacific is now assessing the potential to optimise Woodlark through relocating the processing plant and associated project infrastructure, as well as the potential for staged development with an initial focus on the high-grade core of the mineral resource.

The company will update the openpit design and production schedules for the project, and will undertake a prefeasibility level study to incorporate all these changes, subject to the availability of funding.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Lycopodium (DFS); GRES (engineering, procurement and construction and front-end engineering design) and Mining Plus (update of the mining operational and capital cost model).

Contact Details for Project Information
Geopacific, tel +61 8 61431820 or email info@geopacific.com.au.