Name of the Project
Timok gold project.

Location
The project is located in the Bor mining district, in Serbia.

Project Owner/s
Dundee Precious Metals (DPM).

Project Description
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) has provided a solid foundation for the Timok project.

The PEA considers an openpit mining operation producing about 30 000 t/d at a strip ratio of 2.6:1 using an owner-operated fleet.

The mining assumptions are based on the selection of optimised openpit shells focused on oxide and transitional material types, but also assumes the mining of higher-grade sulphide material within these shells.

The PEA envisions the crushing and stacking of material onto a lined heap-leach facility at 2.5-million tonnes a year. Leached gold will be recovered from solution using a traditional adsorption, desorption recovery plant to produce doré bars, which will be sold to a refinery. With some relatively higher-grade sulphide material to be mined within the openpit designs, a 500 000 t/y sulphide concentrator will start production in Year 3 to produce a clean gold-bearing concentrate from the mineralised sulphide material. This concentrate will be sold to local or global smelters.

Average gold production is estimated at 75 000 oz/y, with peak production estimated at 132 000 oz/y.

The project has a mine life of about nine years.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $108-million and an internal rate of return of 18.9%, with a payback of 4.1 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at  $136-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Based on the results of the PEA, DPM intends to conduct a geotechnical and hydrogeological study, as well as further optimisation work, to target additional sulphide material before starting a preliminary feasibility study (PFS).

The intent of the optimisation work is to define the mining and processing scenarios to be studied in the PFS and to confirm whether the project can achieve a return that is consistent with the company’s capital allocation framework. Development of a permitting and approvals plan incorporating the environmental- and social-impact assessment process and approvals, as well as all additional licensing requirements, was initiated in the fourth quarter of 2018 and will continue during the PFS phase, if started.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Not stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
DPM, tel +1 416365 5191 or email info@dundeeprecious.com.