PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A scoping study into the Mt Ida gold project, in Western Australia, has revealed that some 181 200 oz of gold and 937 800 oz of silver could be produced over a six-year mine life.

ASX-listed Alt Resources on Monday reported that the 500 000 t/y operation would require a capital investment of around A$30-million, and would have an all-in sustaining cost of between A$1 100/oz and A$1 200/oz over the life of the project.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization have been estimated at around A$54.5-million in the first three years, and at A$102.2-million over the life of the project.

Alt CEO James Anderson told shareholders that the scoping study results provided a clear indication of the inherent value proposition at Mt Ida, as well as the substantial potential to further enhance the project with ongoing drilling to grow the resource and make new discoveries.

“I wanted to demonstrate to funders that a value proposition exists for investment whereby a smaller-scale gold project can be developed and deliver solid returns with significantly less capital exposure and risk for funders.

“There is a current mindset and funding model whereby you must have one-million ounces and be able to produce 100 000 oz/y, which is not always sustainable. Bigger is not always better, which is clearly evidenced by the recent failure of Gascoyne and others, and I think the Mt Ida and Bottle Creek scoping study, using reasonable assumptions, has done that.”

Anderson noted that the treatment plant at Mt Ida had been designed to be readily scalable, and at low cost, by increasing the crushing, milling and leaching capacity.

“Our strategy has always been to continue drilling and exploring aggressively to grow the mineral resource to feed a plant and we will deliver on our feasibility study hopefully by the end of the year.

“In the meantime, investors can look forward to strong news flow as we continue to drill aggressively and deliver results from outside the current resource inventory, adding value for our shareholders.”