Name of the Project
Katanning gold project (KGP).

Location
Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Ausgold.

Project Description
A scoping study, based on an existing prefeasibility study, has shown the potential for Katanning to support a larger five-million-tonne-a-year operation. Projected gold production is estimated at 155 000 oz/y over the first six years and an average 136 000 oz/y over a ten-year mine life.

The on-site processing plant will treat a blend of oxide, transitional and fresh gold-bearing ores from the KGP’s openpits.

The scoping study envisages processing throughputs of three-million tonnes a year and five-million tonnes a year.

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 A$819-million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 46%%, with a payback of about 20 months.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital costs are estimated at A$297-million, including a 7% contingency.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Ausgold is gearing up to start a major new drilling programme.

The multipronged drilling campaign comprising about 19 000 m of reverse circulation drilling, is scheduled to start in October.

New drilling will focus on derisking initial mining areas before progressing to target direct extensions to the KGP, as well as greenstone belts along regionally significant structures, including targets along 130 km of strike length along the Stanley Trend.

Ausgold has a 4 300 km²  tenure position in the Katanning greenstone belt, in the south-west portion of the Yilgarn Craton.

“The region is largely underexplored and the company sees clear opportunities to leverage its technical expertise and geological understanding to build a regional resource footprint alongside the growing resource base at the KGP while maintaining its primary focus on developing a large-scale mining operation,” MD Matthew Greentree has said.

Part of the funding from Ausgold’s recent A$28-million equity funding has been specifically earmarked for exploration.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Ausgold, tel +61 8 9220 9890 or email info@ausgoldlimited.com.