Orca Gold has announced the results of a positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of its 70% owned Block 14 project in northeast Republic of the Sudan. The PEA considers a project having a 16-year mine life at an average annual production of 73,000 oz of gold. Life-of-mine all-in cash costs of production are estimated at $805/oz. Initial capital costs to develop the project are estimated at $123 million, including a 19% contingency.
The Block 14 PEA is based on contract mining with ore treated through a 1.8-million mt/y standard carbon-in-leach processing plant. Process water will be supplied from a bore-field 55 km north of the plant, where Orca has discovered water in a Nubian Sandstone aquifer system.
Block 14’s in-pit indicated mineral resources currently stand at 25.07 million mt grading 1.52 g/mt for 1.22 million oz of contained gold, while inferred resources stand at 2.8 million mt grading 1.51 g/mt for 140,000 oz of contained gold. The project has an exploration permit area of 3,750 km2 in a prospective geological setting and clear gold endowment as indicated by the large numbers of artisanal miners working in the area.
Based on the results of the PEA, Orca is proceeding with a prefeasibility study (PFS) and is focused on reaching a development decision in 2017. The company will continue exploring the property while the prefeasibility study is being advanced.
Orca Gold is a Canadian junior company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.
