Kaminak’s 2015 Coffee Feasibility Study Budget Set at $21 Million

Kaminak Gold Corp. (TSXV:KAM) announced that its board of directors has okayed a $21-million 2015 feasibility study budget and work plan for its Yukon-based Coffee gold project. JDS Energy & Mining Inc. has been awarded the contract for the feasibility study.

Eira Thomas, CEO of Kaminak, commented:

The Coffee feasibility study is more than 50% complete and remains on track for completion in early 2016.  As we move forward into the engineering phase of the study, we are pleased to have assembled a strong, diverse team of leading industry professionals led by JDS Energy and Mining.  Further, Kaminak is pleased to announce that following the $21 million bought deal financing announced last month the study is now fully funded.

As quoted in the press release:

Kaminak initiated feasibility study work at Coffee in Q3 2014 and before year end had completed a $15.5 million work program consisting of infill drilling at Latte, Double Double, Kona, and select areas of Supremo as well as site geotechnical studies and environmental baseline work. Total feasibility study costs, including forecasted expenditures of $21 million for 2015, are now estimated at approximately $36.5 million, up from original estimates of $30 million.  The increase in overall costs relate in part to scope changes, but also include revised estimates based upon finalization of third party consulting contracts.  Moreover, these costs include the completion of several trade off studies that have the potential to enhance overall project economics as reported in the PEA.  These studies include:

• An investigation of crushing to a coarser size and possibly placing run of mine material directly to the leach pads: The PEA assumed three stages of crushing to ½ inch; however, preliminary results from ongoing metallurgical testwork at Coffee indicate that gold recoveries from oxide mineralization may be relatively insensitive to size and could have the potential to support the elimination of one or more stages of crushing in the final mine plan.

• The potential for adding gold from the Upper Transition Zone into the final mine plan:  The PEA primarily targeted approximately 2.1 million ounces of oxide gold mineralization, based on available metallurgical testwork from 2013.  Subsequent and ongoing metallurgical testwork targeting Upper Transitional mineralization may help to qualify additional ounces for inclusion in the feasibility study.

• An alternate heap leach pad design and location: The PEA contemplates a 60 million tonne, valley fill heap leach facility, to be constructed over 22 months at an initial cost of $43 million.  Ongoing review has identified a second potential heap leach site that has the potential to both reduce costs and shorten the construction timeline. A detailed site investigation, including geotechnical analysis will be undertaken before the end of Q2, 2015.

Click here to read the full Kaminak Gold Corp. (TSXV:KAM) press release.