Paramount Gold Nevada has released the results of an initial assessment (IA) evaluating the potential restart of its wholly owned Sleeper Gold Project in Humboldt County, Nevada, US.
The assessment, initiated in April and conducted in line with S-K 1300 guidelines, analyses the economic prospects of resuming operations at the formerly producing Sleeper Mine.
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The IA focused on the processing of existing waste rock dumps and extracting in situ oxide and mixed mineral resources using conventional open-pit mining methods.
Ore will be treated at a facility capable of handling 30,000 tonnes per day with crush-agglomerate-heap-leach processes and Merrill-Crowe recovery.
According to the assessment, the project could deliver an after-tax net present value of $402m at an 8% discount rate.
It also includes an after-tax internal rate of return of 44%, based on metal prices of $3,600/oz of gold and $48/oz of silver.
The projected payback period is approximately 1.4 years.
Over its anticipated 17-year mine life, annual gold production is expected to average around 65,000oz, with the total payable gold output estimated at approximately 1.1 million ounces (moz).
The mine plan includes the utilisation of around 47 million tonnes of mineralised waste dump material containing roughly 420,000 recoverable ounces of gold, intended as a lower-cost source for early production and cash flow.
Paramount CEO Rachel Goldman said: “The Sleeper Initial Assessment outlines an exciting restart opportunity, with strong projected returns, a short payback period and a 17-year mine life.
“In the first five years alone, the project has a very low strip ratio of 0.74:1 and is expected to produce approximately 348,000oz of gold and 1.33moz of silver, generating after-tax cash flow of approximately $514m in the base case and $826m in the upside case.”
Updated mineral resource estimates show that the project holds 1.99moz of gold in measured and indicated resources.
The Sleeper Mine previously produced 1.66moz of gold and 2.3moz of silver between 1986 and 1996.
The study recommends that Paramount Gold undertake an $8.7m advancement programme including further drilling, metallurgical tests and permitting work to support a future pre-feasibility study.
Permitting activities are expected to proceed within the scope of the current plan of operations.
