ATAC (TSX:V.ATC, Stock Forum) advanced Gold Tiger further today with its announcement that the company had completed a positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the oxide portion of the deposit located at the western end of the its wholly-owned Rackla gold project in the Yukon.
According to the news release, the PEA, lead by Kappes Cassiday & Associates, was for conventional open-pit mining with single-stage, low intensity crushing and a life of mine production of 2.06 million tonnes of oxide material at an average diluted grade of 3.72 g/t gold.
Pre-tax NPV worked out to $52.1 million at a 5% discount and an IRR of 30% with an all-in sustaining cash cost of $626.
The release went on to note that pit slope engineering, Tiger Deposit infill drilling and exploration of numerous untested nearby targets hold the possibility of enhancing the value of the project economics.
Company CEO, Graham Downs, commented, “Although we remain focused on the Carlin-type gold targets 100 km to the east, we are very pleased with the results of the comprehensive Tiger Deposit PEA. It gives the Company a clear understanding of the potential viability and value of our first Rackla Gold Project discovery, and highlights the advantages of a rare high-grade, at surface, oxide gold deposit that is located in one of the most favourable mining jurisdictions in the world.”
He went on to explain, “The simplicity of the mining and processing combined with the approach of modular design and construction for the on-site facilities has resulted in an optimized development scenario for this size of deposit.”
Then summed up, “Additional geotechnical and resource drilling at the Tiger Deposit combined with exploration drilling at over six untested satellite oxide targets has the potential to significantly enhance the PEA and the district potential of the Rackla Gold Project.”
ATAC was in the news recently when the company provided AGM voting results at the end of June.
Currently there are 115.2m outstanding shares with a market cap of $134.7 million.