Aquila Releases New PEA for Back Forty Gold-Zinc Project

Aquila Resources Inc. (TSX:AQA) announced yesterday the results of a new preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its gold-zinc Back Forty project, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The PEA “incorporates a revised mine plan based on results from Aquila’s 2013 resource update.”

As quoted in the press release:

• Operating at an initial throughput rate of 5,350 tpd, the total payable production of the mine is expected to be 532 thousand ounces of gold, 704 million pounds of zinc, 63 million pounds of copper, 4,645 thousand ounces of silver, and 11 million pounds of lead;
• A total estimated initial capital cost of $261 million comprised of $177 million of direct pre-production capital expenditure (‘CAPEX’), a $44 million contingency, and $40 million of indirect and owner’s costs;
• The average on-site operating costs are $29.25 per tonne processed for open-pit mining and $66.20 per tonne processed for the underground mine; and,
• The near-surface characteristics of the ore body provide the opportunity to develop a low-CAPEX, high-grade initial phase operation. The economics of this are still being evaluated as part of the PEA and will be reported when complete.

Click here to read the full Aquila Resources Inc. (TSX:AQA) press release.