Alkane is pleased to announce the life of mine (LOM) plan for the Company’s Tomingley Gold Operations (Tomingley) in Central New South Wales. Tomingley is an operating mine that has been producing gold since early 2014. The Tomingley LOM plan extends the mine into the Roswell and San Antonio deposits to the immediate south of the existing mining lease.
Key points
- Alkane’s Roswell and San Antonio Resources to be mined as part of an expanded Tomingley Gold Operations that extends the mine’s life to at least 2031.
- Alkane’s life of mine (LOM) plan incorporates the defined Roswell and San Antonio Resources (refer ASX Announcements 4 November 2020 and 16 February 2021), to be mined by both open cut and underground, beginning in FY23.
- This current plan shows the production of approximately 745,000 ounces of gold (ozAu) for the period, with processing ramping to a 1.5 million tonne per annum feed rate.
- The planned production profile (averaged for each period) is:
- 50,000 – 60,000 ozAu per year for FY22 & FY23;
- Production escalating from 60,000 ozAu per year through FY24 to;
- 100,000 – 115,000 ozAu for FY25 to FY27; and,
- 55,000 – 65,000 ozAu for FY28 to FY31.
- Substantial upside potential exists to extend the Roswell underground and maintain production over the FY28 to FY31 period at or near FY25 to FY27 levels, and beyond.
- The expected AISC over the LOM period is A$1,350 to A$1,450 per ozAu.
- Development of the Roswell and San Antonio deposits requires the diversion of the Newell Highway onto land which Alkane has already purchased.
- This diversion, together with plant upgrades and other capital gives rise to a capital cost of ~$87M, predominantly expended in FY23.
- The capital cost is expected to be funded from operating cashflow and debt, and preliminary discussions are commencing with potential debt providers.
- With detailed plans and initial consultation now complete, the Environmental Impact Statement is being prepared for submission in the coming quarter. The expected timing of Project Approval is mid-2022.
Alkane Managing Director, Nic Earner, said: “We’re excited to announce the planned extension of Tomingley mine life to beyond 2030.
“With existing underground and open cut operations we are well placed to incorporate the new Resources defined by Alkane’s exploration team at the nearby Roswell and San Antonio deposits.
“We intend to increase our processing throughput and ramp production to over 100,000 ounces per year from FY25, whilst continuing production at the current run rate in the interim. With the high-grade Roswell deposit open at depth, there is real potential for further increases in production in the late 2020s.
“We expect to submit our Environmental Impact Statement for Project Approval in the coming quarter, and we are continuing consultation with interested stakeholders.”