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Brightstar Resources Limited (ASX: BTR) (Brightstar) is pleased to announce the second round of priority assay results from the remaining two metallurgical diamond drillholes at Cork Tree Well (CTW) within the Laverton Gold Project (LGP). These two holes were part of a broader 20 hole diamond drilling program1 which has now been successfully completed.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Assays received from the final two metallurgical diamond holes completed at Cork Tree Well with bonanza-grade gold assays up to 1028.37g/t Au
- High-grade results substantiated by numerous observations of visible gold in both drill holes
- Intercepts returned include 27.6m @ 17.77g/t Au from 51m (CTWMET003)
- CTWMET003 was drilled into the unmined central deposit at Cork Tree Well, with the gold mineralisation entirely contained within a dolerite - quartz breccia unit
- Intercepts returned below the historical shallow open pit within CTWMET001 include:
- 11.4m @ 3.1g/t Au from 133.5m (estimated true width), and
- 8.3m at 1.45g/t Au from 120.7m (estimated true width)
- Twenty-hole diamond drilling program successfully concluded with metallurgical and geotechnical testwork underway to feed into PFS workstreams
Brightstar’s Managing Director, Alex Rovira, commented“It is great to see further high-grades assays continuing and visible gold being observed from the diamond drilling program that has recently been completed at Cork Tree Well. CTWMET003 returned an excellent high-grade, shallow intersection of 27.6m @ 17.77g/t Au from 51m, which complements the previously announced2 intersections which included a strong result of 34.4m @ 7.94g/t Au (CTWMET004) drilled 1km to the north.
The drilling campaign represented the first diamond holes drilled at Cork Tree Well by Brightstar, with our understanding of the geology and mineralisation styles being strengthened by the knowledge being gained from this recently completed program.
Today’s results continue to reinforce our view that the gold mineralisation at Cork Tree Well is structurally hosted, with a mafic metadolerite host rock observed in CTWMET003 whilst gold mineralisation returned in CTWMET001 is positioned within the sedimentary package underneath the historically mined shallow open pit.
The four metallurgical drillholes (CTWMET001 – 004) were drilled into the known orebody locations that fall within the optimised $2,750/oz pit shells generated in the 2023 Scoping Study3, with CTWMET003 and CTWMET004 drilled down plunge to the orebody to deliver maximum rock mass for metallurgical testwork and CTWMET001 and CTWMET002 drilled perpendicular to the orebody and represent estimated true width.
Given the calibre of the assays received from the drilling to date, Brightstar continues to see strong potential to build on the existing 303koz @ 1.4g/t Au Mineral Resource4 both at depth with high-grade plunging shoots and strike extensions targeting the structurally-controlled mineralised trends. The high-grade results returned to date are significantly higher than the current 1.4g/t Au head grade of the Mineral Resource and 1.85g/t mine grade from the 2023 Scoping Study, representing significant upside.
We look forward to updating shareholders with more information on the diamond program, which forms the basis for metallurgical and geotechnical testwork workstreams within our ongoing Pre-Feasibility Study5.
Figure 1 - CTWMET003 at 54.05m, showing visible gold (VG, circled) with $2 coin (20.5mm diameter) for scale
Figure 2 - CTWMET001 at 138.75m, showing visible gold (VG, circled) with tape measure for scale
Table 1 - Significant Intercepts (>1g/t Au) for CTWMET001 & CTWMET003
Figure 3 - Q1/24 Diamond Drill Program – Cork Tree Well
Due to the nuggety and high-grade nature of the gold mineralisation observed in CTWMET001 and CTWMET003, multiple samples had repeat assays completed following from best QA/QC laboratory practice. The repeat fire-assays provided additional analytical insight into the nuggety nature of mineralisation in addition to the visible gold observed. Where multiple repeat assay runs occurred, an average of the results has been used in the reporting in Table 1 above and within this announcement. The full breakdown of the re-assayed samples are outlined below in Table 2-3.
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This article includes content from Brightstar Resources, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
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Brightstar Resources
Investor Insight
A gold-focused emerging gold producer with a clear pathway to production growth, Brightstar Resources presents a compelling investment case driven by its mining and development hubs strategy and a district-scale resource opportunity.
Overview
The price of gold stays strong. In April 2024, the yellow metal’s price passed US$2,400 per ounce for the first time. The reason is multifaceted. The world teeters on the brink of a severe recession while some markets attribute the increase to safe haven rush. Amidst ballooning interest rates, bank failures and falling bond yields, demand for gold continues to rise. At this precise moment, gold is simultaneously an excellent portfolio diversifier and a compelling hedge against ongoing inflation — particularly if one invests in the right company.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) aims to be that company. An emerging mining and development company, Brightstar occupies a strategic land position of roughly 1,200 square kilometers in the Sandstone Greenstone Belt, 300 square kilometers in the Laverton Tectonic Belt and 80 square kilometers of the Menzies Shear Zone.
The company also owns an existing processing facility that can potentially provide tremendous shareholder value in a low-capital cost restart scenario.
That plant, once fully refurbished and operational, could prove a key differentiator for the company, enabling fast gold production at a low capital cost. This is especially noteworthy given that many other gold companies trading on the ASX are largely focused on greenfield exploration and development. Even once those companies discover a promising resource, mining and processing facilities would still need to be built, undertakings which can incur significant upfront capital costs and take several years.
Brightstar's Laverton gold assets are all centered on a 100 percent-owned 300-square-kilometer tenure in the Laverton Tectonic Zone and all within 70 kilometers of the Laverton Processing Plant. Additionally, all resources within this zone are open along strike and at depth. Only minor drilling programs have been conducted in recent years, paving the way for significant exploration upside with the potential for further regional and greenfields discoveries.
Brightstar also owns 100 percent of the Menzies Gold Project, a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of roughly 20 kilometers along the Menzies Shear Zone and adjacent to the Goldfields Highway.
In 2023 and 2024, the company announced a mineral resource upgrade to the Cork Tree Well deposit (Laverton gold project) and also delivered two maiden mineral resource estimates at the Link Zone and Aspacia deposits (Menzies gold project). This has grown the total group MRE by approximately 150 koz gold through organic exploration.
The company has also acquired 100 percent of the shares and options of Linden Gold Alliance, a gold producer, developer and explorer with existing mineral resources of 350 koz @ 2.1 g/t gold near Brightstar in the Laverton district. Brightstar’s MRE has reached 1.1 Moz gold across the Menzies and Laverton projects, with an additional 0.35 Moz gold in resources added after the successful acquisition of Linden Gold Alliance.
In August 2024, Brightstar entered into a scheme implementation deed to acquire 100 percent of Alto Metals (ASX:AME), which owns the Sandstone gold project located in East Murchison. The project has a current mineral resource of 1.05 Moz of gold at 1.5 g/t.
Brightstar also completed the acquisition of the gold rights at the Montague East gold project (MEGP) from Gateway Mining Limited (ASX:GML). The project is located 70 km from the Sandstone gold project. The acquisition adds a further 9.6 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 0.5 Moz gold to Brightstar’s JORC Mineral Resource Estimate, giving the company a total mineral endowment of 38.3 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 2.0 Moz gold.
The acquisition of the MGEP from Gateway Mining and 100 percent of Alto’s shares creates a third district-scale resource base for the company called the Sandstone Hub. Upon consolidation of the Laverton, Menzies and Sandstone hubs, Brightstar’s mineral resources would reach 3 Moz at 1.5g/t gold.
Subsequent to the deal with Alto Metals, Brightstar entered into a $4 million drill-for-equity agreement with Topdrill to aggressively advance the consolidated Sandstone gold project. The deal strengthens Brightstar's financial capacity to fulfill its multi-hub exploration and development strategy, which includes the Menzies, Laverton and Sandstone hubs.
Company Highlights
- Brightstar Resources is an ASX-listed mining and development company with more than 3 million ounces of gold resources and an on-site processing infrastructure across its project locations in Laverton, Menzies and Sandstone in Western Australia.
- Brightstar's mineral assets are situated across roughly 300 square kilometers of 100-percent-owned land in the Laverton Tectonic Zone and ~80 square kilometers in the high-grade Menzies Shear Zone.
- The Laverton Gold project has a mineral resource of 9.7 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 511 koz gold and the Menzies gold project has 13.8 Mt @ 1.3g/t gold for 595 koz gold.
- In 2023, the company completed a scoping study into the development of its Menzies and Laverton gold projects and the refurbishment and restart of its processing plant in Laverton.
- In 2023 and 2024, Brightstar completed a small-scale mining joint venture with BML Ventures which involved a 50/50 profit-sharing agreement to exploit the Selkirk deposit at Menzies. In April 2024, Brightstar announced that this joint venture delivered a net profit to Brightstar of $6.5 million.
- In June 2024, the company successfully acquired all of the issued ordinary shares and options in Linden Gold Alliance, a gold producer, developer and explorer with existing mineral resources of 350 koz @ 2.1 g/t gold near Brightstar in the Laverton district.
- As part of the merger with Linden Gold, Brightstar released a scoping study into Linden’s development-ready Jasper Hills gold project, which delivered key metrics including:
- 140 koz mined over 3.75 years (35 koz pa)
- Net present value of AU$99 million
- Internal rate of return of 736 percent
- Pre-production capital requirements of $12 million
- All-in sustaining costs of AU$1,972/oz
- Jasper Hills is located just 50 km SE of Brightstar’s processing plant in the Laverton gold project
- Brightstar has recently completed the acquisition of the gold rights at the Montague East gold project (MEGP) from Gateway Mining Limited (ASX:GML), and has entered into an agreement to acquire Alto Metals (ASX:AME) further creating the company’s third district-scale resource base known as the Sandstone Hub.
- Brightstar plans to continue generating shareholder value through a combination of development and strategic acquisitions along with some exploration.
Key Projects
Laverton Hub
Brightstar’s Laverton hub is comprised of the Cork Tree Well, Beta and Alpha project areas with the addition of the Second Fortune gold mine and the Jasper Hills projects.
Highlights:
- Cork Tree Well, Alpha and Beta have current total JORC mineral resource estimate of 9.7 Mt @ 1.6 g/t gold for 511 koz (52 percent measured and indicated category). All mineral resources are on granted mining leases
- Cork Tree Well (6.4 Mt at 1.4 g/t gold for 303 koz gold)
- Alpha (1.4 Mt at 2.3 g/t gold for 106 koz gold)
- Beta (1.9 Mt at 1.7 g/t gold for 102 koz gold)
- Main project area Cork Tree Well is open at depth and along strike with recent drilling results of 34.4 meters at 7.94 g/t gold from 43.5 meters (CTWMET004) and 27.6 meters at 17.8 g/t gold from 51 m (CTWMET003)
- Second Fortune has a mineral resource estimate head grade of ~11g/t gold with an average ore body width of ~0.6 meters.
- Jasper Hills is located 50 km from Brightstar’s existing processing facility along a wholly-owned private haul road, allowing unimpeded, direct access to both projects
- Permitted, previously mined and production-ready
- Last mined by current owners in 2020 with 23,000 oz gold mined
- Scoping Study outcomes include:
- Pre-production capex of $12 million required (maximum capital drawdown)
- Open pit mine at Lord Byron and underground mine at Fish
- Production of 141 koz over four years (35 koz per annum)
- LOM EBITDA of $135 million (@ AU$3,000/oz)
Menzies Hub
The Menzies Hub comprises a tenement holding of a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of more than 20 km. The majority of deposits hosted along the Menzies Shear Zone are located adjacent to Goldfields Highway in Menzies (130km north of Kalgoorlie).
Highlights:
- Total Current Resource: 13.7 Mt at 1.3 g/t gold for 595 koz gold (36 percent measured and indicated)
- September 2023 scoping study showed the simultaneous development of open pit mining at Lady Shenton system and underground mining at Yunndaga:
- 1.9 Mt @ 1.63 g/t Au (100 koz) in open pit mining at Lady Shenton
- 650 kt @ 2.91 g/t (60 koz) in underground mining at Yunndaga
- Low capex of $22 million
- Significant opportunities to find virgin discoveries and brownfields mineral resource growth:
Sandstone Hub
The consolidated Sandstone project is over 100 km from existing third-party milling operations in the Murchison. This third processing hub boasts Alto’s Sandstone project with a mineral resource of 1.05 Moz at 1.4 g/t gold and Gateway’s Montague gold project with a mineral resource of 0.5 Moz @ 1.6 g/t gold.
Brightstar aims to fast-track the development timetable through:
- A focused, multi-rig infill drill out to take the inferred mineralisation into measured and indicated status to underpin mining studies and project advancement
- The application of Brightstar’s dedicated in-house geological and mining engineering team to retain crucial project IP and fast-tracked mining studies;
Brightstar Processing Facility
Situated close to Brightstar's existing mineral assets at Laverton, the Brightstar Processing Plant provides the company with a considerable operational head start over its peers.
Highlights:
- Extensive Infrastructure: Current facilities at the plant include two ball mills, a power station and gravity and elution circuits. Other infrastructure includes:
- A tailings storage dam
- An on-site process water pond
- A 60-person accommodation camp
- An airstrip at the Cork Tree Well Project
- Vehicles and equipment include a forklift, bobcat, two loaders, multiple light vehicles and a 30-tonne crane.
- A Leg Up Over Competitors: The presence of pre-existing processing infrastructure represents significant time savings compared to greenfields development. Brightstar had an independent valuation completed which valued the processing plant at AU$60 million in replacement value.
- Low Upfront Capital Cost: As part of the scoping study released in September 2023, GR Engineering estimated a capital cost requirement to refurbish and expand the milling capacity would cost just AU$18.5 million.
- Close to Existing Assets: Brightstar's major development projects — Cork Tree Well, Jasper Hills, Beta and Alpha — are all close to the plant.
Gold doré bars (BTR005 – BTR016) poured on 9 March 2024
Management Team
Alex Rovira - Managing Director
Alex Rovira is a qualified geologist and an experienced investment banker having focused on the metals and mining sector since 2013. Rovira has experience in ASX equity capital markets activities, including capital raisings, IPOs and merger and acquisitions.
Richard Crookes - Non-executive Chairman
Richard Crookes has over 35 years’ experience in the resources and investments industries. He is a geologist by training having previously worked as the chief geologist and mining manager of Ernest Henry Mining in Australia.
Crookes is managing partner of Lionhead Resources, a critical minerals investment fund and formerly an investment director at EMR Capital. Prior to that he was an executive director in Macquarie Bank’s Metals Energy Capital (MEC) division where he managed all aspects of the bank’s principal investments in mining and metals companies.
Andrew Rich - Executive Director
Andrew Rich is a degree qualified mining engineer from the WA School of Mines and has obtained a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Rich has a strong background in underground gold mining with experience predominantly in the development of underground mines at Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX).
Ashley Fraser - Non-executive Director
Ashley Fraser is an accomplished mining professional with over 30 years experience across gold and bulk commodities. Fraser was a founder of Orionstone (which merged with Emeco in a $660-million consolidation) and is a founder/owner of Blue Cap Mining and Blue Cap Equities.
Jonathan Downes - Non-executive Director
Jonathan Downes has over 30 years’ experience in the minerals industry and has worked in various geological and corporate capacities. Experienced with gold and base metals, he has been intimately involved with the exploration process through to production. Downes is currently the managing director of Kaiser Reef, a high grade gold producer, and non-executive director of Cazaly Resources.
Matthew Bowles – Non-executive Director
Matthew Bowles is a senior corporate finance executive with extensive public corporate advisory, private equity and capital markets experience in the resources sector. Bowles has successfully negotiated domestic and cross border corporate funding, joint venture and M&A transactions for a number of ASX listed companies in Africa, the Americas and Australia. He was previously chief development officer for a West African focused ASX listed company. He commenced his career with Rio Tinto, working in corporate and commercial roles for nine years, before moving to London to work in banking and finance. Since his return to Australia, Bowles has held senior roles with global advisory firms, focusing on the resources sector. Bowles holds a Bachelor of Business, is a member of CPA Australia and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia.
Dean Vallve – Chief Operating Officer
Dean Vallve holds technical qualifications in geology & mining engineering from the WA School of Mines, an MBA, and a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Vallve was previously in senior mining and study roles at ASX listed mid-cap resources companies Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) and Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI).
Ore Purchase Agreement with Westgold Resources Unlocks Gold Production from Crown Prince
HIGHLIGHTS
- New Murchison Gold (NMG) and Westgold Resources (Westgold) have entered into an Ore Purchase Agreement (OPA) which will underpin production from NMG’s Crown Prince deposit near Meekatharra, Western Australia in 2025.
- Subject to final regulatory permitting, under the OPA, NMG will commence mining from a new open pit operation at Crown Prince with a targeted commencement date of mid-2025.
- Ore will be hauled 33km by road to the Bluebird Gold Processing Plant, part of Westgold’s Murchison Gold Operations at Meekatharra.
- Ore will be sold to Westgold in several parcels (Ore Parcels) totalling 30-50kt per month with each Ore Parcel certified for grade, moisture and recovery from sampling at the Crown Prince site and a recovery factor agreed for each mining bench from test work replicating the Bluebird Mill circuit.
- The OPA has no fixed term although NMG envisages that most of Crown Prince ore is likely to be processed in an “Initial Period” which runs over the first 24 months of the agreement. Thereafter ore tonnages are to be agreed on a rolling three-month basis once production forecasts have been completed by NMG and Westgold has confirmed mill availability.
- Westgold will purchase ore from NMG based on contained gold in each Ore Parcel at the prevailing AUD gold price in the month the Ore Parcel is collected (minus processing costs and a capital recovery charge). Westgold must promptly collect Ore Parcels that are available for collection.
- The OPA is subject to shareholder approval (Listing Rule 10.1 requirement) at a general meeting of NMG shareholders to be held in late January or early February 2025.
- NMG and Westgold have also entered into an ancillary agreement (Licence and Access Water Discharge Deed) which facilitates NMG’s potential dewatering requirements at Crown Prince.
Alex Passmore, NMG’s CEO commented: "We are very pleased to announce the Ore Purchase Agreement with Westgold as it sees both companies working together to support the development of NMG’s Crown Prince deposit in a capitally efficient manner.
We see this Agreement as beneficial to all shareholders with Westgold acquiring additional high grade oxide ore feed to supplement its Meekatharra operations and NMG transitioning to a producer for modest capital.
The Bluebird Processing Plant owned by Westgold is ideal for NMG due to its close proximity and well-matched metallurgical process. We believe the robust frameworks and protocols we have put in place in this Agreement aligns both operational teams to a common goal of maximizing operational efficiency.
We thank the Westgold team for the technical and commercial work that has led to this Agreement and look forward to working collaboratively in making the development of Crown Prince a success”
Crown Prince is located to the north of Meekatharra, around 33km via road to the Bluebird Gold Processing Plant (Bluebird) owned and operated by BBGO. Westgold and NMG have been working collaboratively on the OPA to manage technical risks and to share economic synergies which are available via the partnering of production from the Crown Prince deposit and milling at Bluebird.
Key Terms of the OPA are outlined in the Table below and will be explained fully in a Notice of Meeting to be sent to NMG shareholders in December. The NMG shareholder meeting is likely to be held in late January or early February 2025. As a result of Westgold’s 18.7% ownership of NMG, it is deemed a related party under the ASX Listing Rules and so the OPA includes a condition precedent of NMG obtaining shareholder approval under Listing Rule 10.1.
BDO Corporate Finance Australia Pty Ltd (BDO) has been engaged to provide an opinion and Independent Expert’s Report to accompany the Notice of Meeting to assist shareholders in their considerations of whether or not to approve the OPA moving into operation.
Should the conditions precedent be met (shareholder approval) the OPA will come into effect with NMG expecting mining approvals to be received in early April 2025. Once mining operations commence, and ore stockpiles are built up, it is anticipated that first Ore Parcel sales will occur in September 2025.
The company is working towards an ore reserve estimate to provide further detail on the economics of the project which is to be released shortly.
Plan of Access and Water Infrastructure - Crown Prince
Authorised for release to ASX by the Board of New Murchison Gold Limited.
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This article includes content from New Murchison Gold Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Lahontan Gold Announces Positive Preliminary Economic Assessment for Santa Fe
Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSXV:LG)(OTCQB:LGCXF)(the "Company" or "Lahontan") is pleased to announce results from a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment(" PEA") on its flagship Santa Fe Mine gold-silver project located in Nevada's prolific Walker Lane Trend. The PEA was prepared by Kappes, Cassiday & Associates ("KCA") of Reno, Nevada with mine planning and production scheduling contributions from RESPEC Company LLC ("Respec"), Reno, Nevada and mineral resource estimation by Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. ("Equity"), of Vancouver, British Columbia, in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").
PEA Highlights:
- Pre-tax Net Present Value at a 5% discount rate ("NPV5") of US$265.1 M with a 41.0% IRRwith an After-tax NPV5 of US$200.0 M with a 34.2% IRR utilizing a $2,705/oz gold price and a $32.60/oz silver price ("spot metal prices") (see spot metal price to base case metal price comparison in Table 1).
- Total Life-of-Mine ("LOM") Pre-tax net cash flow of US$373.3 M and After-tax net cash flow of US$288.9 M over a nine-year project life using spot metal prices.
- Total projected LOM revenue of US$930.8 M over a nine-year project life using spot metal prices.
- LOM strip ratio of only 1.54 (waste to mineralized material ratio).
- Estimated pre-production capital costs of US$135.1 M including a 20% contingency, with a payback of 2.9 years using spot metal prices.
Kimberly Ann, Lahontan Gold Corp Executive Chair, CEO, President, and Founder commented: "Lahontan is very excited about the results of the PEA: a low-capex, highly profitable mining project with a quick payback certainly bodes well for the future of Lahontan and all stakeholders. There is considerable potential to expand gold and silver resources, therefore this is just the first step in restarting mining operations at Santa Fe. With mine permitting well under-way, targeting a 2026 mine ground-breaking, the potential for the Company to realize the economic outcomes outlined in the PEA is very real, especially given current trends in gold and silver prices. Continued optimization of the mine plan, resource expansion drilling, and refining the metallurgical flow sheet are planned for 2025, in parallel with our permitting activities."
The PEA is preliminary in nature, includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Company has not defined any Mineral Reserves at the Santa Fe Mine project.
Economic Sensitivities
Sensitivity of the project economics to metals prices is shown in Table 1, showing the base case metal prices used for the PEA, as well as a low case, a high case and the spot case.
Table 1: Santa Fe Project 2024 PEA Economics
Low Case | Base Case | High Case | Spot Case (1) | |
Gold Price (US$/oz) | 1,800 | 2,025 | 2,200 | 2,705 |
Silver Price (US$/oz) | 21.50 | 24.20 | 26.3 | 32.60 |
Net Revenue (US$) | 618.6 M | 696.2 M | 756.5 M | 930.8 M |
Pre-Tax NCF(2) (US$) | 65.0 M | 141.6 M | 201.2 M | 373.3 M |
Pre-Tax NPV5(3) (US$) | 21.7 M | 82.2 M | 129.2 M | 265.1 M |
Pre-Tax IRR(4) | 8.5% | 17.4% | 23.9% | 41.0% |
After-Tax NCF(2) (US$) | 47.8 M | 107.7 M | 154.1 M | 288.9 M |
After-Tax NPV5(3) (US$) | 8.7 M | 56.5 M | 93.3 M | 200.0 M |
After-Tax IRR(4) | 6.4% | 14.0% | 19.5% | 34.2% |
Payback Period(5) (years) | 5.1 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 2.9 |
(1) As of December 10, 2024
(2) NCF means net cash flow
(3) NPV5 refers to net present value at 5% discount rate
(4) IRR means internal rate of return
(5) Pre-production capital, excluding sustaining capital
Capital Costs
Capital costs for the project are summarized in Table 2. Capital costs associated with the mining operation were estimated by RESPEC and based on mining by contractor. Pre-stripping costs were based on the operating costs discussed below. Capital costs associated with processing such as crushing, heap leaching and metal recovery, along with support and infrastructure costs associated with laboratory, water and power distribution and general site services were estimated by KCA. Reclamation and closure costs of $12.5 M were estimated by KCA.
Table 2: Project Capital Costs
Pre-Production (US$ M) | LOM Sustaining (US$ M) | |
Mining | 2.5 | 0.8 |
Processing, Support & Infrastructure | 116.0 | 17.0 |
Owner's Costs | 5.3 | 0.0 |
Initial Fills | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Working Capital(1) | 10.7 | 0.0 |
TOTAL(2) | 135.1 | 17.8 |
- Working capital is credited in Year 9
- Values are rounded and may not sum perfectly
Operating Costs
Operating costs for the project are summarized in Table 3. Mining operating costs were estimated by RESPEC and based on estimated anticipated equipment hours and personnel requirements at a 25% markup for contractor rates. The off-road red-dye diesel fuel price in this estimate was assumed to be $0.74/L. All other operating costs were estimated by KCA and based on first principles on certain components where possible, such as reagent and power consumption, along with benchmarking with similar operations for other components, such as labor, maintenance and discretionary expenses
Table 3: Project Operating Costs
LOM Total (US$ M) | Per Tonne Processed ($/t) | |
Mining | 204.2 | 7.36 |
Processing | 138.7 | 5.00 |
Support & Infrastructure | 17.3 | 0.62 |
G&A | 35.8 | 1.29 |
TOTAL(1) | 402.5 | 14.28 |
(1) Values are rounded and may not sum perfectly
Mine Production Schedule
The PEA mine production schedule includes mining of leach material and waste for the Santa Fe, Calvada, Slab, and York deposits. Leach material was assumed to be sent to a centralized crushing plant and then stacked on a leach pad and the waste material was sent to designed waste rock storage facilities (WRSF) or used as partial backfill into the Calvada pit.
Because the Santa Fe Mine is a brown-field project, minimal pre-stripping is required to develop sufficient stockpiles to feed the crusher. The mine production schedule requires 2 months of preproduction which begins in the Santa Fe deposit. The Calvada deposit is started in year 2 and mined concurrently with Santa Fe. Calvada mining is followed by mining of Slab and York deposits.
The process schedule was developed with a ramp up of production from year 1 through year 3 to a full 4.56 million tonnes per year. Table 4 shows the process production schedule.
Table 4: Projected Production Summary
Year | Tonnes Processed (kt) | Gold Grade (g/t) | Silver Grade (g/t) | Gold Produced (koz) | Silver Produced (koz) | Gold Equivalent Produced(1) (koz) |
1 | 3,468 | 0.47 | 4.1 | 30.3 | 88.1 | 31.4 |
2 | 4,517 | 0.58 | 4.6 | 51.4 | 168.9 | 53.4 |
3 | 4,563 | 0.66 | 3.7 | 60.2 | 155.7 | 62.0 |
4 | 4,563 | 0.70 | 3.0 | 60.5 | 124.2 | 62.0 |
5 | 4,563 | 0.73 | 2.5 | 62.0 | 93.5 | 63.1 |
6 | 4,563 | 0.61 | 2.2 | 49.9 | 56.9 | 50.5 |
7 | 1,497 | 0.58 | 2.1 | 20.1 | 23.1 | 20.4 |
8(2) | 0 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 2.3 | ||
TOTAL(3) | 27,731 | 0.63 | 3.3 | 336.7 | 714.7 | 345.2 |
- Equivalent gold calculation is based on base case metal prices
- Residual leaching production only
- Values are rounded and may not sum perfectly
Table 5 shows the key production parameters for the mine and processing units used in the generation of the production and cash flow profiles.
Table 5: Key Mining and Processing Production Parameters
LOM | |
Mining | |
Total Waste Tonnes Mined (Mt) | 42.9 |
Total Processed Tonnes Mined (Mt) | 27.7 |
Total Tonnes Mined (Mt) | 70.6 |
Heap Recovery - Gold | |
Santa Fe Oxide | 71% |
Santa Fe Transition | 49% |
Calvada Oxide | 71% |
Calvada Transition | 45% |
Slab Oxide | 50% |
York Oxide | 60% |
York Transition | 45% |
Heap Recovery - Silver | |
Santa Fe Oxide | 30% |
Santa Fe Transition | 30% |
Calvada Oxide | 13% |
Calvada Transition | 0% |
Slab Oxide | 12% |
York Oxide | 0% |
York Transition | 0% |
Mining and Processing
The mineralized material will be mined by standard open-pit mining methods using a contractor-owned and operated mining fleet consisting of 92-tonne haul trucks and 11.5-m3 loading units and transported to the crushing circuit for processing.
Mineralized material from the Santa Fe, Calvada, Slab and York deposits will be processed by conventional heap leaching methods. The nominal processing rate will be 4.6 million tonnes per annum or 12,500 tonnes per day. Three-stage crushing of the material to 12.7 mm, will be followed by conveyor stacking on to a multi-lift heap leach pad. Dilute sodium cyanide solution will be applied to the heap, with the pregnant gold and silver-bearing solution effluent from the heap being processed in a carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR) plant. Gold and silver will be produced in the form of doré bars from the on-site smelting process.
Mineral Resource Estimation
The mineral resource estimate ("MRE") was prepared in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards and Canadian National Instrument NI-43-101. The effective date of the MRE prepared by Equity is October 9, 2024. The MRE is shown in Table 6.
Table 6: Project-wide Resources, Santa Fe Mine, Mineral County, Nevada
Notes to Table 6:
- Mineral Resources have an effective date of October 9, 2024. The Mineral Resource Estimate for the Santa Fe Mine was prepared by Trevor Rabb, P.Geo., of Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd., an independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.
- Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Inferred Resources are considered too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be classified as Mineral Reserves. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that most of the Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.
- Resources are reported in accordance with NI43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (BCSC, 2016) and the CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (CIM, 2014).
- Mineral Resources were estimated for gold, silver, and gold equivalent (Au Eq) using a combination of ordinary kriging and inverse distance cubed within grade shell domains.
- Mineral resources are reported using a cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t Au Eq for oxide resources and 0.60 g/t Au Eq for non-oxide resources. Au Eq for the purpose of cut-off grade and reporting the Mineral Resources is based on the following assumptions gold price of US$1,950/oz gold, silver price of US$23.50/oz silver, and oxide gold recoveries ranging from 45% to 79%, oxide silver recoveries ranging from 10% to 30%, and non-oxide gold and silver recoveries of 71%, mining costs for resource and waste of US$2.50/t, processing cost (oxide) US$3.49/t, processing cost (non-oxide) US$25/t.
- An optimized open-pit shell was used to constrain the Mineral Resource and was generated using Lerchs-Grossman algorithm utilizing the following parameters: gold price of US$1,950/oz gold, silver price of US$23.50/oz silver, and selling costs of US$29.25/oz gold. Mining costs for resource and waste of US$2.50/t, processing cost (oxide) US$3.49/t, processing cost (non-oxide) US$25/t, G&A cost US$1.06/t. Royalties for the Slab, York and Calvada deposits are 1.25%, and maximum pit slope angles of 50 degrees.
- Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Estimation Approach: Lithology and gold and silver bearing domains were modelled using Leapfrog 2024. These domains are mainly defined by logged jasperoid and limestone-breccia lithologies and continuity of gold grades above 0.1 g/t gold. Metallurgical domains for oxide, transition and non-oxide were modelled based on ratio of cyanide leachable gold assay values to fire assay gold values in addition to drillhole logs recording abundance of pyrite and oxidation intensity. Transition material represents approximately 35% of oxide tonnes and comes almost entirely from the Santa Fe deposit. Transition domain material is included in the oxide resource. Domains representing lithology, weathering and mineralization models were assigned to a block model with a block size of 5 m x 5 m x 6 m. Average bulk densities representative of the mineralization and lithology models were assigned to the block model and vary from 2.4 t/m3 to 2.6 t/m3.
Grade capping and outlier restrictions were applied to gold and silver values and interpolation parameters respectively. Top cut values for gold and silver were evaluated for each domain independently prior to compositing to 1.52 m lengths that honor domain boundaries. Estimation was completed using Micromine Origin with Ordinary Kriging (OK) and Inverse Distance cubed (ID3) interpolants. Blocks were classified in accordance with the 2014 CIM Definition Standards. The nominal drillhole spacing for Indicated Mineral Resources is 50 m or less. The nominal drillhole spacing for Inferred Mineral Resources is 100 m or less.
Prospects for eventual economic extraction were evaluated by performing pit optimization using Lerchs-Grossman algorithm with the following parameters: gold price of US$1,950/oz gold, silver price of US$23.50/oz silver, selling costs of US$29.25/oz gold. Mining costs for resource and waste of US$2.50/t, processing cost (oxide) US$3.49/t, processing cost (non-oxide) US$25/t, G&A cost US$1.06/t. Royalties for the Slab, York and Calvada deposits are 1.25%. Maximum pit slope is 50 degrees. Processing recoveries range from 45% to 79% for oxide, silver recoveries range from 10% to 30% for oxide and non-oxide gold and silver recoveries are 71%.
More information regarding the Santa Fe Mine project's MRE update is included in the NI 43-101 Technical Report titled Santa Fe Project Technical Report with an effective date of October 9, 2024, Report Date: November 27, 2024*.
Qualified Persons
The qualified persons are Kenji Umeno, P.Eng. of Kappes, Cassiday & Associates; Thomas Dyer, P.E. of RESPEC; Trevor Rabb, P.Geo. and Darcy Baker, P.Geo. of Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. each of whom is an independent "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101. A technical report supporting the results disclosed herein will be published within 45 days. The effective date of the technical report will be December 10, 2024.
About Lahontan Gold Corp.
Lahontan Gold Corp. is a Canadian mine development and mineral exploration company that holds, through its US subsidiaries, four top-tier gold and silver exploration properties in the Walker Lane of mining friendly Nevada. Lahontan's flagship property, the 26.4km2 Santa Fe Mine project, had past production of 356,000 ounces of gold and 784,000 ounces of silver between 1988 and 1995 from open pit mines utilizing heap-leach processing (Nevada Division of Minerals, www.ndomdata.com). The Santa Fe Mine has a Canadian National Instrument 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,539,000 oz Au Eq(grading 0.99 g/t Au Eq) and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 411,000 oz Au Eq (grading 0.76 g/t Au Eq), all pit constrained (Au Eq is inclusive of recovery, please see Santa Fe Project Technical Report*). For more information, please visit our website: www.lahontangoldcorp.com
* Please see the Santa Fe Project Technical Report, Authors: Trevor Rabb, P. Geo, Darcy Baker, PhD, P. Geo., and Kenji Umeno, P. Eng., Effective Date: October 9, 2024, Report Date: November 27, 2024. The Technical Report is available on the Company's website and SEDAR+.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Kimberly Ann
Founder, CEO, President, and Director
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Lahontan Gold Corp.
Kimberly Ann
Founder, Chief Executive Officer, President, Director
Phone: 1-530-414-4400
Email: Kimberly.ann@lahontangoldcorp.com
Website: www.lahontangoldcorp.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian and United States securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-Looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things: the Company's strategic plans; the results of the PEA; the economic potential and merits of the Project; the estimated amount and grade of mineral resources at the Project; precious metals prices; the PEA representing a viable development option for the Santa Fe Mine project ("the Project"); the timing and particulars of the development phases as identified in the PEA; estimates with respect to LOM, operating costs, sustaining capital costs, capex, AISC, cash costs, LOM production, processing plant throughput, NPV and after-tax IRR, payback period, production capacity and other metrics; the estimated economic returns from the Project; mining methods and extraction techniques; the exploration potential of the Project and its inclusion in future mining studies.
These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon several assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include, among other things: conditions in general economic and financial markets; tonnage to be mined and processed; grades and recoveries; prices for silver and gold remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; reclamation estimates; reliability of the updated MRE and the assumptions upon which it is based; future operating costs; prices for energy inputs, labor, materials, supplies and services (including transportation); the availability of skilled labor and no labor related disruptions at any of the Company's operations; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled production; performance of available laboratory and other related services; availability of funds; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals for operations are received in a timely manner; the ability to secure and maintain title and ownership to properties and the surface rights necessary for operations; and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com
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