Greatland Gold plc (LON:GGP) has released Stage 1 Pre-Feasibility Study for their world-class Havieron gold project in Western Australia.
The study found 4Mt of probable ore reserves set for a mine life of 9 years. Throughput is estimated to be 2Mtpa.
Greatland Gold shares fell over 9% in early trade on Tuesday following the announcement.
Shaun Day, Chief Executive Officer of Greatland Gold plc, commented: “This maiden Pre-Feasibility Study focuses on the South-East Crescent and should be viewed as the first stage. The study covers just a small fraction of the resource and the broader mineralised breccia system but is a tremendous first step towards creating a mine and unlocking our understanding and the value of Havieron.
The investment proposition of Greatland is compelling, with Havieron confirmed as a world class ore body, being developed with a Tier 1 partner in Newcrest and all within a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction of Western Australia.”
Mr Day went on to explain the benefits of reinvesting cash flow to help develop the rest of the project.
“The Stage 1 Study indicates a very modest capex hurdle for Greatland and thereafter the generation of cash flow. This provides the opportunity for Greatland to reinvest this cash flow into Havieron such that the Company can self-fund the full potential of Havieron. This capital profile is ideal for Greatland as a mid-cap miner.
The quality of Havieron is observable in the AISC of just US$643/oz Au. This outcome will propel Greatland to the second lowest cost producer globally, with this low cost structure driving a high-margin, high IRR and fast pay-back development.
Notwithstanding the tremendous outcome of this Stage 1 Study, the opportunity at Havieron remains ahead of us. A further 90,000 meters of growth drilling is planned to June 2022, to better understand the extent of the South East Crescent, the Northern Breccia and the recently identified Eastern Breccia. This growth drilling creates the opportunity to potentially apply bulk mining methods to the balance of the Havieron breccia system to complement the mining of the South East Crescent.”
