PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Meeka Gold will undertake a prefeasibility study on its Murchison gold project, in Western Australia, after a scoping study confirmed the project’s economics.
The scoping study estimated that the project could produce 443 000 oz of gold over an eight-year mine life, with the processing operations running for nine years to fully deplete stockpiles.
Gold production is expected to average 50 000 oz/y, Meeka said on Wednesday.
The ASX-listed company told shareholders that the Murchison project would require a capital investment of A$52-million, and would have a pay-back period of 23 months.
“Delivery of this study is the first step towards putting the Murchison gold project back into production. We are extremely pleased with the strong project fundamentals demonstrated by this work and it gives us confidence to progress through to the next phase with commencement of the prefeasibility level study with immediate effect,” said Meeka Gold CEO Tim Davidson.
“The study demonstrates the project is capable of delivering significant value for shareholders, far in excess of the cost to acquire the project and the estimated capital required to restart production. We also have a clear plan in place to systematically drill-test possible extensions to the large 1.1-million-ounce resource, which has the potential to further enhance the value of the project.”
Meeka, which was previously known as Latitude Consolidated, in February this year acquired the Andy Well and Gnaweeda gold projects from fellow-listed Silver Lake Resources for A$8-million, and subsequently renamed the broader project the Murchison project.