JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – A recent scoping study conducted by junior GBM Resources for its Mt Coolon gold project has indicated that it may be economically viable to redevelop the project, which shows the potential to generate strong positive cash flow.
Mt Coolon is a tenement exploration project covering an area of 770 km2, at which GBM previously reported mineral resources containing a total of 333 500 oz of gold.
The project is based on several exploration targets, including Glen Eva with a 78 300 oz resource; Koala tailings retreatment, underground and openpit mine with a 128 100 oz resource and Eugenia openpit mine with a 124 100 oz resource. The Mt Coolon scoping study shows the potential economic viability of mining these three areas using a combination of heap leaching and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing. Both Koala and Glen Eva deposits are on granted mining leases.
The study further demonstrates that during the five-and-a-half-year life-of-mine, Mt Coolon will produce 155 000 oz, with a pre-tax cash flow of A$60.5-million.
The project will require A$25.5-million for preproduction processes and the CIL or heap leaching plant. The study estimates operating cash cost will be A$909/oz, and all-in sustaining costs A$1 020/oz.
GBM Resources purchased the project in 2015 from Drummond Gold through the acquisition of a 100% interest in the issued capital of Mt Coolon Gold Mines.
The next step for GBM Resources is to secure funding and proceed with a feasibility study.
The exploration areas are situated 250 km west of Mackay, in Queensland and are within the prolific Drummond basin, which has proven fertile for the discovery of epithermal and intrusive relation gold systems with the entire basin accounting for past production of more than 4.5-million ounces of gold.