Intchains Group Ltd V.ICG

Integra Gold gets creative with Sigma-Lamaque acquisition

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https://www.northernminer.com/news/integra-gold-gets-creative-with-sigma-lamaque-acquisition/1003267203/

The company is currently transferring operating permits that include certificates of authorization for underground development and tailing facilities, and is exploring the possibility of developing an access portal from the old Sigma pit towards the Parallel zone. The option could offer Integra capital savings since its original plan had been to hit Parallel from surface.

In early March Integra released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) at Lamaque that contemplated the processing of its material at nearby mills. The toll-milling scenario would have cost $69 million to develop and include an underground mine that would produce 112,000 oz. of gold annually at all-in sustaining costs of $805 per oz. The original study forecast costs around $46 per tonne of material processed, with the mark-up attributed to toll milling estimated at between $15 and $20 per tonne.

Integra's study returned an $88.5 million after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate, along with a 38% internal rate of return (IRR) and a 1.8 year pay-back period.

"Project synergies from the acquisition are expected to reduce estimated capital and operating costs, while also de-risking Lamaque South by securing processing capacity as opposed to toll milling arrangements under the previous PEA," de Jong noted. "As a result, [we] expect production operating costs could be several million dollars per year less than currently estimated."

Meanwhile, Integra is in the midst of one of the more aggressive junior drill programs across Canada. The company had eight drills turning earlier this year, and is investing $6 million in a program that should total roughly 40,000 metres by year end. The primary targets have been Triangle and Parallel, though the company also intends on focusing its efforts at the No. 5 Plug and Fortune zones. Around 15,000 metres are also ear-marked for what Integra labels "significant exploration targets."

On Sept. 10 Integra reported the final tranche of results from 2014 drilling at Triangle, with highlights including: 3 metres of 22.02 grams gold from 225 metres depth in hole TM-14-14; 2 metres of 25 grams gold from 254 metres depth in hole TM-14-54; and 2.2 metres of 19.32 grams gold from 170 metres depth in hole TM-14-56.

“Our program at Triangle was about 50-50 in-fill and expansion. The mineralization is very much contained within the intrusive plugs, and what we've done is hit it along the fringe of the plug outside of the volcanics. There was no resource on these zones, and the resources we do have in the area were quite loosely drilled,” de Jong adds.

The company has completed around 60,000 metres of drilling since its last resource estimate, and expects to include around 40,000 metres in a resource update due during the fourth quarter.

In late June the company closed a $10 million private placement wherein it issued 30.2 million units at a price of roughly 20¢ per unit. Each unit consists of one share and one purchase warrant that entitles the holder to purchase an additional share at price of 30¢ within 24 months of closing.

“With this mill we have the ability to expand, and there's great opportunity with a lot of small deposits in the region held by companies that can't justify the capital requirements needed to build their own infrastructure,” de Jong concludes. “We do like the idea of looking outward, but it's the concept of 'walk before you run.' We haven't found a magic formula to get to our nameplate capacity. It's just that Parallel and Triangle are basically two separate mines that happen to be located right next to one another.”