RE:PEATypically a PEA is not carried out until most of the deposit is defined, otherwise you are wasting your money. For example, where is the pit located? How about the waste rock to ore ratio? Where do you locate all ore stockpile, waste rock, ponds, facilities, etc.?
All the engineering must be carried out to determine proper locations ore-wise, structural-wise, etc. What if you dumped your waste rock in a location that later turns out to ore bearing? Probably becomes lost and dead forever. Condemnation drilling is needed to rule out potential ore for such facilities. As we have seen with Seabridge's condemnation drilling for the tunnel, there seems to be ore lurking everywhere on Treaty Creek.
Having said that, there could be an argument for an early PEA in this case. I would argue, it again relates to Seabridge and the TUD/TUO/AMK share price. Treaty Creek is sitting next door to a KSM which is receiving no love. It's like a girl wearing her best dress, but nobody wants to ask her to dance.
The capex and other issues surrounding KSM seem to be tainting the interest in Treaty Creek. Investors (and partuclarily speculators) are not taking a serious look, simply saying "Isn't Goldstorm sitting next to that ugly duckling? Must have crappy economics too."
So there could be an argument to conduct a PEA just to demonstrate how different the economics are compared to KSM. It would give Tudor the opportunity to clearly divorce Goldstorm/Treaty Creek from KSM. They could toot their own horn instead of hearing people say "Yeah, but what about KSM?" The argument would then be: This is the minimum economics, and it can only get better as Treaty Creek progresses, outlining additional and higher grade sections.
Of course, the final PEA/PFS will look completely different, but it would essentially be putting an NI43-101 minimum stamp on the project.
Jumperdidwin wrote: It seems a PEA was a major priority for TUD this year.
Since the deposit is still open in all directions and needs more drilling next year, has anyone ever heard of a PEA being issued for what they currently have? In other words, could they issue a PEA for the area they have now drilled out and then say they will work next year to add the the PEA, the same way they are doing for known and implied oz of gold they have discoverd so far?
never heard of this, but what do i know, i am just a little old farmer from Aberarder
jumper