Horizon Minerals Reports Boorara Stage 1 Feasibility Study Results

Horizon Minerals (ASX:HRZ) announced the results of the Boorara Stage 1 feasibility study (FS). The proposed mining project comprises predominantly oxide and transitional material contained within the project’s maiden ore reserve. The 100 percent owned project is located 10 kilometers (km) east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, adjacent to the super pit in the heart of the Western Australian (WA) goldfields.

Highlights are as follows:

• Extensive 18,000 meters grade control program completed at Boorara with excellent high grade results across the Regal, Crown Jewel and Royal deposits, 10 km east of KalgoorlieBoulder in the heart of the Western Australian goldfields
• Trial mining and toll milling at Royal in 2016 delivered a mill reconciled grade of 1.73 garms per tonne (g/t) gold, 70 percent above the global resource grade and a gold recovery of 91.5 percent
• Mine optimisation and design, scheduling and economic evaluation now completed for the stage 1 development of the Regal and Crown Jewel deposits
• Feasibility Study findings indicate a financially viable project highlighted by the following
• Open pit mine design producing 159,000 tonnes at a fully diluted grade of 1.86 g/t gold for 9,500 ounces over a six month mine life
•  Toll milling at 91.0 percent metallurgical recovery produces 8,700 ounces recovered
• Low up-front capital costs of AU$0.44
• C1 cost of A$1,570 per ounce and all in sustaining cost of A$1,680 per ounce
• Project generates AU$5.8 million in free cash flow at a current gold price of AU$2,350 per ounce
• Statutory approvals, mining and haulage contracts well advanced
• New toll milling agreement executed for ore processing at Golden Mile milling’s 1Mtpa
• Lakewood Mill, located 7km west of Boorara on existing roads
• Development decision expected in the current March quarter 2020 for commencement of mining in the June quarter and toll milling in the September quarter four.
• Reconciliation data from mining and milling will de-risk the larger scale development being assessed as part of the consolidated feasibility study

Jon Price, managing director, commented:

The Boorara stage 1 feasibility study has delivered robust economic results with strong projected cash margins and significantly reduced geological risk with grade control drilling completed ahead of a decision to mine. As with the successful Teal gold mine, the company has taken a conservative approach to both resource estimation and mine development parameters, adopting conservative cutoff grades, dilution and ore recovery to reduce risk and underpin strong future cash generation.

The key drivers for developing stage 1 of Boorara are to leverage off the current high gold prices to generate cash and to de-risk the larger scale development by confirming the tonnage and grade uplift demonstrated by the infill drilling and previous mining and milling reconciliations

Click here to read the whole Horizon Minerals (ASX:HRZ) press release.