No mill neededFWIW
It is important to keep in mind that Eau Claire is within practical working distance of G's proposed mine and processing mill at Eleanore. If taken by G it would need no mill and would extend the life of mill @ Eleanore ~3 years per 1MM oz. of Au, while improving the return on capital employed for the mill. I believe that Mr. Gaumond once said that it is not inconceivable that Eleanore could approach 15 MM oz total. So between Eau C (assuming 2-2.5 MM oz) and Eleanore, the new camp could have a life of ~50 years, but probably much longer with continued consolidation.
ARZ has stuck it's oar in the area with the AZM/EVR deal. That does not preclude consolidation of the area (ARZ may be a target itself), but it appears that EC followed by ES would be the next logical steps for G. Assuming 2-2.5 MM oz at EC, I continue to look for $10+; the more, the merrier.
Regards,
JA_P
For reference from Creamer Media's Mining Weekly.com. - 13 March '10
This week, Goldcorp announced details of a prefeasibility study forEleanore, estimating upfront capital for the project at around$880-million, with average annual production forecast at 330 000 oz/y.
Atbelow $400/oz, the project's cash costs will be lower than a lot of newgold mines being brought on line in the next few years, Jeannes said.
Theprefeasibility document estimates a 16-year mine life, but that isbased on 2008 resource figures, and does not include a significantincrease in inferred resources that Goldcorp announced earlier thisyear, he pointed out.
The project now has an estimated3,15-million ounces of gold in measured and indicated resources, plus6,25-million ounces in the inferred category.
Over the remainderof this year, the prefeasibility study will be updated to include thenew resource numbers, and the company is also looking at a number ofoptimisations to improve the economics of the project.
“Eleanoreis a very large mineral system, but it is deep, and a lot of the bettergrades are towards the bottom of the deposit, rather than near thesurface,” Jeannes said.
“So that represents some challenges. Butthe fact that we are investing nearly $100-million again this yearshould give a sense that we are quite confident...that we are going toend up with a new Goldcorp mine.”
Collar excavation will beginthis month on a 725-m-deep exploration shaft at Eleanore, with sinkingexpected to continue until the third quarter of 2012.