CK gold project, US – update
Photo by © Bloomberg
Name of the Project
CK gold project.
Location
Laramie County, Wyoming, in the US.
Project Owner/s
Nasdaq-listed exploration and development company US Gold Corp.
Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) has delivered robust economics. It envisages an openpit mine, which will produce an average of 108 500 gold equivalent ounces a year over a ten-year mine life.
The project has measured and indicated resources of 1.58-million gold-equivalent ounces.
A contractor mining operating model is proposed for mine operations, tailings disposal and site support.
The project owner will operate the process plant, provide supervision for contractors, mine planning, ore control and general site administration. This hybrid owner/contractor model is used to leverage the regional mine contractor expertise and reduce initial project capital costs.
The current process flowsheet uses a one-stage crushing plant receiving run-of-mine ore and stacking crushed ore on a reclaim-feeder-equipped stockpile. The semiautogenous grinding mill is fed crushed ore at a nominal rate of 18 150 t/d and is in closed circuit with a ball mill, two pebble crushers and two banks of cyclones, which produces a product for flotation.
A flotation circuit, with regrind after rougher flotation, will produce a bulk flotation concentrate. Tailings will be thickened and dried using filter presses for dry stack disposal.
Opportunities exist to eliminate equipment and reduce capital costs through measures – such as the elimination of a pebble crusher and cyclone bank, as well as ball mills, from the circuit – and the optimisation of the tailings preparation, resulting in less filtration.
Potential Job Creation
Not stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $323-million and an internal rate of return of 39.4%, with a two-year payback.
Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $221-million.
Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.
Latest Developments
US Gold has achieved two significant milestones in the permitting stage of its CK Gold mining project.
The project received its industrial siting permit (ISP) – the first of two critical permits necessary for the construction and operation of the proposed mine at CK Gold – in June 2023. The ISP is a requirement for all projects in Wyoming projected to exceed $253.9-million in construction and mine capital costs.
The second major permit package is the mine operating permit and mine closure plan, which the company expects to be approved as early as the first half of 2024.
Bee says US Gold is addressing comments from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Protection – Land Quality Division (DEQ-LQD), which it received following the initial technical review of the mine operating permit application and closure plan.
The DEQ-LQD, also governed by statute, follows a rigorous process that involves a full assessment of the application by specialists tasked with safeguarding public interest and environmental protection for the proposed activities.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Alquimia/Innomet (engineering design work).
Contact Details for Project Information
US Gold Corp, tel +1 800 557 4550 or email ir@usgoldcorp.gold.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation