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- Focus Minerals (FML) has updated the pre-feasibility study (PFS) and ore reserve for Coolgardie Gold Project in Western Australia
- The PFS incorporates three of the project’s deposits, all of which have undergone Mineral Resource upgrades in recent months
- The total proved and probable ore reserve now sits 422,000 ounces of contained gold, underpinning six years of mostly open-pit production
- The project will require up to $48 million to get off the ground, including $24 million to refurbish the 3 Mile Hill Mill
- Focus Minerals is reviewing other deposits at the project which may further extend the projected life of mine
- Shares gained 4.88 per cent higher to close at 43 cents
Focus Minerals (FML) has updated the pre-feasibility study (PFS) and ore reserve for the Coolgardie Gold Project in Western Australia.
The PFS incorporates three of the project’s deposits – Bonnie Vale, Brilliant and Greenfields – all of which have undergone Mineral Resource upgrades in recent months.
The Coolgardie Project has a total measured, indicated and inferred mineral resource of 33.7 million tonnes at 2.2g/t gold for 2.41 million ounces.
The total proved and probable ore reserve now sits 6.64 megatonnes at 1.97 grams per tonne for 422,000 ounces of contained gold.
This underpins the updated PFS which forecasts a six-year life of mine at an average production rate of 63,000 ounces of gold per year.
The Coolgardie project will require up to $48 million to get off the ground, including $24 million to refurbish the 3 Mile Hill Mill and $4 million for tailings lift.
Based on a 7.5 per cent discount rate and a gold price of $2,200 per ounce, the project has a net present value of $183 million.
Focus Minerals is reviewing other deposits at the project which may further extend the life of mine as CEO Zhaoya Wang explained.
“The 2020 Coolgardie PFS Refresh indicates opportunity to develop a robust production schedule with further upside. Our technical team is continuing to develop additional potentially mineable resources that can improve the economic case for a resumption of mining in Coolgardie.”
Yesterday, Focus Minerals announced the termination of the Coolgardie Rare Metals Venture with Lithium Australia (LIT), allowing it to concentrate on the Coolgardie and Laverton gold projects.
Focus will transfer a group of tenements, known as the Nepean Group, to Lithium Australia in exchange for 20 per cent of the statutory royalties payable the State of Western Australia.
Focus’s share price rose 4.88 per cent today, regaining yesterday’s lost ground, to finish Tuesday’s session at 43 cents.
