Name of the Project
Block 14 gold project.

Location
The Nubian desert, in northern Sudan.

Project Owner/s
Orca Gold (70%).

Project Description
A revised feasibility study on Block 14 has shown a material improvement in the operating costs of the project. The project has probable reserves of 79.94-million tonnes grading 1.11 g/t for 2.85-million ounces of gold.

The revised feasibility study envisages a conventional truck-and-shovel openpit operation feeding a mineral processing circuit incorporating primary crushing, semiautogenous grinding and ball mill grinding, followed by carbon-in-pulp leaching, stripping and electrowinning.

The project has a mine life of 13.6 years, with life-of-mine production estimated at 167 000 oz/y of gold. The project has a milling capacity of six-million tonnes a year.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $607-million and an internal rate of return of 33.3%, with a payback of 2.9 years.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital has decreased from $328-million in the November feasibility study to $321-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The project is expected to take 27 months to build.

Latest Developments
Orca remains confident that Block 14 will achieve production as scheduled, following despite news of a military coup in Sudan on October 25.

All agreements to advance the project have been signed and Orca’s decision to build the mine has not changed, with General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan stating on October 26 that all commercial agreements will continue to be honoured by government.

“We are monitoring the current political situation closely and will report back as more information becomes available,” CEO Rick Clark has said.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Lycopodium Minerals (feasibility study).

Contact Details for Project Information
Orca Gold, tel +1 604 689 7842 or email info@orcagold.com.