PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior Explaurum on Friday told shareholders that its Tampia gold project, in Western Australia, could require a capital investment of about A$95-million to recover 500 000 oz of gold over a six-year mine life.
A scoping study into the project found that a single openpit mining operation, processing at a rate of 1.5-million tonnes a year, could deliver 94 000 oz/y of gold in the first five years of operation.
The scoping study estimated a life-of-mine (LoM) C1 cash cost of A$799/oz, and an all-in sustaining cost of A$888/oz, while the pre-tax net present value was estimated at A$181-million and the project’s pre-tax internal rate of return was estimated at 64%.
The LoM gold production target was based on 8.1-million tonnes, grading 2.1 g/t gold in-pit resource.
“The outcomes of the scoping study, based on the recently released mineral resource for the Tampia gold project, indicate the potential for development of a low-cost, high-margin gold project with robust economics,” said Explaurum MD John Lawton.
“The study concludes that a mine life of six years, with production exceeding 500 000 oz, would provide a highly attractive payback period of around 1.5 years, based on an initial capital cost of A$95-million.”
Lawton said that a feasibility study and exploring the potential of the immediate vicinity around the Tampia project was now a top priority for Explaurum, as the company looked to optimise the project’s development.
“The scoping study has demonstrated that Tampia has the potential to be one of Australia’s highest margin development opportunities in gold, with considerable upside.”