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VANCOUVER — Falco Resources Ltd. (TSXV:FPC) says state of the art mining technology could boost efficiency at its large Horne 5 gold-silver-copper-zinc deposit in Rouyn-Noranda, Que.
VANCOUVER — Falco Resources Ltd. (TSXV:FPC) says state of the art mining technology could boost efficiency at its large Horne 5 gold-silver-copper-zinc deposit in Rouyn-Noranda, Que. The $905-million operation would be one of the largest underground gold operations in North America, and the company is aiming to be in production within four years.
In May, Falco released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on Horne 5 that outlines a “highly-automated” operation that would leverage remote-control equipment to transport 15,000 tonnes of material per day to a flotation-thickening facility divided between three circuits to recover copper, zinc and pyrite concentrates. The underground deposit is located at a depth of 600 metres to 2,300 metres below surface.
A Horne 5 operation would generate 236,000 oz. gold annually at all-in sustaining costs of US$427 per oz., net of by-product credits. The US$1,250 per oz. base case features a U$667-million, after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate, and a 16% internal rate of return.
The mine plan targets 63.8 million tonnes of volcanogenic-massive sulfide material with a diluted grade of 1.6 grams gold per tonne, 15.5 grams silver per tonne, 0.19% copper and 0.85% zinc. The gold equivalent grade is 2.6 grams per tonne for 4.8 million contained equivalent oz.
The company also drilled 10,000 metres to test an area between the western edge of the Horne 5 deposit and the Horne Creek fault, which it hopes can provide more ore early in the mine’s life to delay costs required to access more material at depth. Positive results from hole 16-17A reportedly confirm a good grade and thickness in the western area, including 12.4 metres at 5.14 grams gold equivalent.