AuRico Metals publishes positive PEA for Kemess East gold/copper project
VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold producer AuRico Metals has published a positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Kemess East gold/copper project, even when considered as a standalone project, not part of the Kemess underground project, the company announced Monday.
The Kemess East PEA evaluated a low-cost panel caving operation with ore being processed at the existing mill.
The PEA calculated a pre-tax net present value (NPV), using a 5% discount, of C$670-million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 22.1%. After taxes, the NPV is C$375-million and the IRR is 16.7%.
The mine plan stretches 12 years, during which it will produce 936 000 oz of gold, 57-million pounds of copper and 318 000 oz of silver.
Kemess East is located 6.5 km north of the existing Kemess mill and infrastructure, about 430 km northwest of Prince George, in British Columbia.
AuRico estimates the preproduction capital costs, including contingency, will be C$327-million. Over the life of the mine, the co-product all-in sustaining costs will be $744/oz of gold and $1.79/lb of copper.
The Kemess East deposit contains measured and indicated resources of 113.1-million tonnes averaging 0.46 g/t gold, 0.38% copper, 1.94 g/t silver, containing 1.68-million oz of gold, 954-million pounds of copper, and 7.01 oz of silver. It also has an inferred resource of 64.8-million tonnes at 0.31 g/t gold, 0.34% copper, and 1.90 g/t silver, containing 640 000 oz of gold, 478-million pounds of copper, and 3.89-million oz of silver. Further drilling is planned for this year.
AuRico plans to conduct a separate feasibility study, expected to be released in 2018, which will evaluate Kemess underground and Kemess East projects as part of an integrated development scenario. The combined feasibility study is expected to reflect further in-fill and expansion drilling planned at Kemess East this summer and the resulting resource update expected in early 2018.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation