Springpole 2019 PEA Highlights(1):
The PEA contemplates an open pit mine and milling operation, evaluating recovery of gold and silver from a 36,000 tonne-per-day operation, with a process plant that includes crushing, grinding, flotation, with fine grinding of the flotation concentrate and agitated leaching of both the flotation concentrate and the flotation tails followed by a carbon-in-pulp recovery process to produce dor bullion. Key PEA highlights include:
- $1.23 billion pre-tax NPV5%
- $841 million after-tax NPV5%
- 26% pre-tax IRR, 22% after-tax IRR
- Mine life of 12 years with a 2.5-year pre-production period
- Average annual gold production in years 2 through 9 of 410,000 ounces gold and 2.4 million ounces silver; 3.9 million ounces gold and 22 million ounces silver recovered over the life of mine ("LOM")
- Low LOM strip ratio of 2.1 to 1 with a LOM mill grade of 1.0 g/t gold and 5.3 g/t silver
- LOM overall metal recoveries of 88% for gold and 93% for silver
- LOM direct operating cash costs(2) estimated at $575/oz of gold equivalent ($514/oz of gold on a by-product basis)
- LOM all-in sustaining costs (AISC)(3) estimated at $611/oz of gold equivalent ($552/oz of gold on a by-product basis)
- Initial capital costs estimated at $809 million, using an owner-operating mining scenario
- LOM sustaining capital costs estimated at $124 million, plus $26 million for closure costs