Name of the Project
Theta openpit starter pit.

Location
South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Theta Gold Mines.

Project Description
Theta has a five-year plan, which targets four mine developments – Theta openpit starter project (MR83 only), Theta openpit extension (MR341) and the Rietfontein and Beta underground mines.

A new optimised mine schedule on the Theta openpit starter project has added 40 000 oz of gold over the feasibility study released in May 2019.

The new mine schedule significantly improves the metrics of the project over the May 2019 feasibility study, has a reduced environmental footprint, reflects an increase in the production rate from 500 000 t/y to 600 000 t/y, includes the mining of several old mine waste rock dumps and increases the overall mine operational flexibility.

The mining method selected for this project is modified terrace mining and is suited to the mountainous profile of the current topography. The ore will be extracted on a flat surface whereby all the ore is extracted on the horizontal plane using ripping, loading and hauling.

The project is now expected to have a mine life of six-and-a-half years, up from the previous five-year estimate, with gold delivered over the life of the project increasing from 219 000 oz to 260 000 oz.

There remains significant resource development upside from the contiguous southerly extension of the Theta Hill mineralisation into Mining Right 341 and other opencut resources nearby – this is no change from the May 2019 feasibility study. These additional resources have not been included in the May 2019 feasibility study or the optimised study.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $85-million in the base case at a gold price of $1 500/oz and an internal rate of return of 123% from 65.1% in the May 2019 feasibility study. The project now has a payback of eight months from the start of production, compared with 14 months in the May 2019 feasibility study.

Capital Expenditure
The project’s total capital cost has also reduced from $34.3-million in the May 2019 feasibility study to $31.4-million in the optimised mine schedule.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Theta is working to progress the mining contract through to a final document with a preferred contractor, amending the environmental-impact assessment and to resubmit the document to implement the expanded mine schedule, while also progressing discussions with engineering firms tendering for the gold plant construction.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Theta Gold Mines, tel +61 2 8912 2126 or email info@thetagoldmines.com.