PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Limited early work is set to start at the Gruyere project, in Western Australia, following the grant of several key miscellaneous licences by the Department of Mines and Petroleum.
ASX-listed Gold Road Resources told shareholders on Thursday that the receipt of these licences would allow the company to partially de-risk the delivery of its flagship project by starting planned construction of the accommodation village and the access road in the December quarter.
The anticipated cost of these works is estimated at about A$18-million and will be funded from the A$74-million capital raise completed by Gold Road in May of this year.
“Securing these key miscellaneous licences is another important step in bringing the Gruyere project closer to development as it ensures tenure for the project infrastructure and allows us to start the preparatory stage of construction in a timely manner,” said Gold Road MD Ian Murray.
“We continue to progress discussions regarding comprehensive funding and corporate options for the project and remain confident of settling on a solution towards the end of 2016, when the Gruyere feasibility study is due for completion.”
The Gruyere project is expected to deliver some 265 000 oz of gold over a mine life of 12 years and will require a capital investment of about A$455-million.
The project development is based on a single large openpit mine and a conventional carbon-in-leach plant with a throughput of between 7.5-million tonnes and 8.8-million tonnes a year.