TSX-listed gold miner and explorer Anaconda has filed the registration document for its Goldboro project with the Nova Scotia Department of Environment, marking the start of the permitting process and getting the company one step closer to its aim of reaching the preproduction stage in 2020.
The registration document will be available for public viewing and comment for 30 days, the company said on Tuesday.
The Goldboro project forms a strategic part of Anaconda’s strategy for near-term growth. Located about 185 km northeast of Halifax, the project has been through a preliminary economic assessment, which provided a base case for its development.
Using a gold price of $1 500/oz, the Goldboro project has a pretax net present value, at a 7% discount rate, of $189-million and an internal rate of return of 38%, implying a pretax payback period of 2.9 years.
The study is based an 8.8 year mine life, with 2.4-million tonnes of potential mill feed at an average grade of 5.13 g/t gold and a recovery rate of 93.6%, resulting in production of 375 900 oz. The mine will deliver an average of 41 770 oz/y of gold.
A potential 200 jobs can be created at the peak of production.