A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) study, conducted by GE21 Consultoria Mineral on behalf of TriStar Gold for its Castelo de Sonhos gold project, in Brazil, highlighted life-of-mine recoverable gold of 1.1-million ounces, or an average of 120 000 oz/y.
The Castelo de Sonhos project will require a capital investment of $184-million and is the TSX-V-listed junior’s flagship project.
The highlights of the PEA included a pretax internal rate of return of 51% and a net present value at a 5% discount of $319-million, with a payback period of 1.9 years.
The cash cost is estimated at $660/oz and the all-in sustaining costs at $687/oz.
“This study now shows a robust, low cost base case for the Castelo de Sonhos gold project. With payback in less than two years and an average production of nearly 160 000 oz/y for the first four years, the remarkable potential of this project is coming into focus.
“We intend to complete further drilling in 2019 with an aim to further increase the mineral resource estimate,” confirmed TriStar president and CEO Nick Appleyard in a statement.
The PEA is based on an indicated mineral resource of 17.7-million tonnes at 1.2 g/t, containing 0.7-million ounces of gold and an inferred resource of 39.8-million tonnes at 1.0 g/t, containing 1.3-million ounces of gold.