PEA Option 1 - Picking low-hanging fruitsNow that we have the baseline PEA available. It's would be an oportune time for management to bring in a few options while waiting for the updated RE which is expected to be available within 4 weeks. One of the options which can be brought in almost right away would be the use of the resource available in the top 400m in Sigma deposit which according to de Jong could be around 200,000 -300,000 oz Au.
Slide 16 of the Feb 2017 Corp presentation show a resource of 2.4Moz (I: 0.586 Moz and Inf: 1.853Moz). Let's assume that ICG can extract 300,000oz from the top 400m, and they can do that from the accessible workings (above the water line). They can start stockpiling the ore (@ 5gpt). For the same production rate of 123,000 oz/yr for the current PEA they would need to stock pile 123,000 oz/yr x 31 g/oz/5gpt = 762,600 tpy (/350dpy = 2178 tpd).
That would keep the Sigma mill fully occupied at the licenced limit of 2400 tpd.
In principle, they can start mining Sigma and stockpiling while getting the mill ready for processing up to the maximum rate of 2400 tpd. When the bulk samples are collected from Triangle they can be processed by this mill as well, rather than paying others to custom mill to bulk samples.
Aplying the JIT (just-in-time) principle there is no need to have a year's worth of stockpiling (although the more the better, since the mill people don't want to be caught short of feed). All they need to do is have a perhaps 1 month-ore supply, at any given time, for the mill to chew on at a rate of ~2400 tpd while adding more ore to the pile, from the mining operation.
Assuming that they would use 50-tonne trucks it would take 2400tpd/50 ~ 50 truck load per day to satisfy the feed management. Since the ore travel distance within this site is short, a small fleet of 5 dump trucks with 10 trips per day should be able to do the job.
Capex for this option would be just a small portion of the estimates shown in the PEA. And the production at 123,000 oz/yr would be available for over 2 yrs, while waiting for other
options, including further upgrade of the mill to 5000 tpd, to come on line.
I would call this option 1 "Picking low-hanging fruits".
GH