Name of the Project
Loma Larga gold project.

Location
Ecuador.

Project Owner/s
INV Metals.

Project Description
A feasibility study has reaffirmed the project’s viability, demonstrating the strong profitability and economics of the Loma Larga gold/copper/silver deposit.

The project has total proven and probable reserves of 13.9-million tonnes grading 4.91 g/t gold, 29.6 g/t silver and 0.29% copper. Measured and indicated resources, including mineral reserves, are estimated at 24.1-million tonnes grading 3.76 g/t gold, 24.8 g/t silver and 0.22% copper.

The project has a life-of-mine of 12 years.

The underground mine will be accessed by a 1.2-km-long ramp into the deposit. The ramp will serve as the access to the mine for personnel and materials, the haulage of waste and ore, and for ventilation. Owing to the high-grade nature of the orebody and the positive geotechnical conditions, the deposit will be primarily mined using long-hole stoping methods, with 20-m-wide, 25-m-high and 20-m-long stope sizes. Certain zones will use the drift-and-fill method.

The initial mining rate is estimated at 3 000 t/d in the first four years. From Year 5, average ore production of 3 400 t/d is planned to be achieved through plant optimisation.

Average yearly mined production is forecast at 223 000 gold equivalent ounces, with an average of 289 000 gold equivalent ounces mined during the first four full years of production.

Ore will be processed using primary and secon­dary crushing, a ball mill, and a two-stage seque­ntial flotation circuit to recover gold, silver and copper into two separate saleable concentrates, which will be trucked to the port for export.

Potential Job Creation
The project is expected to create about 875 jobs during construction and about 450 jobs once the mine is in production.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $783-million and an internal rate of return of 40%, with a payback of two years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial preproduction capital expenditure is estimated at $315.5-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
For the remainder of 2020, INV Metals plans to focus on permitting efforts for Loma Larga.

With the completion of the updated feasibility study, the company will be primarily focused on obtaining the key environmental permits, along with an investment protection agreement, to enable IMV to make a development decision on Loma Larga.

The permitting process will include the completion and submission of the environmental-impact study (EIS), which will incorporate relevant tech­nical information from the feasibility study, where appropriate, along with community consultation efforts and communication programmes.

The submission of the EIS is expected before the end of the second quarter of 2020 but may be subject to delays, as a result of current and/or any future restrictions, which may be in place as a result of the Covid-19 global pandemic.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
DRA Americas (feasibility study).

Contact Details for Project Information
IMV Metals, tel +1416703 8416 or email questions@invmetals.com.