Railroad/Poker Flats compared to Gold Quarry mine
This was taken from a mining journal. Dave Mathewson from Gold Standard repeatedly stated that the Railroad District, mostly comprised of the Railroad property of Gold Standard and the Poker Flats property of Sphere/Spartan/Mexivada compares to Newmont's Gold Quarry gold mine situated in the Carlin Trend. It has all the characteristics and complexities and geology, almost like a twin brother.
Future projects
There are a series of future development projects in planning by Newmont for its Nevada operations. Two of the most significant are centred around the existing Gold Quarry in Carlin, which is a world class asset having produced 25 Moz since 1982, but which in its existing design has a limited future. The most advanced is the so-called Gold Quarry West Wall, which would extend the existing pit and represents the main near mine exploration project. Some 60,000 m had been drilled from late 2009 through to April 2010 and an additional 60,000 m of drilling in 2010. Some 3.1 Moz of reserves have been added and the project, now in bankable feasibility stage, would add up to 10 years of life to the pit, within the currently permitted mining area. However, the challenge is that the project would require additional waste and tailings dump storage, which comes under separate permitting.
Expected production would be 270-330,000 oz/y for the first five years. The first production would be expected in 2018-2019 and the initial capex is in the region of US$45-65 million.