Name of the Project
TGME underground gold mining project.

Location
Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Gold mining development company Theta Gold Mines.

Project Description
The project aims to restart historical underground gold mines in Mpumalanga, a prolific gold-mining region.

The project is targeting the Beta, Rietfontein, Frankfort and Clewer-Dukes Hill-Morgenzon (CDM) mines.

In the base case, the project has a mine life of 12.9 years, delivering production of 1.24-million ounces of contained gold over the life-of-mine (LoM) at a processing rate of 540 000 t/y to initially recover 1.08-million ounces of gold.

The project aims to produce 30 000 t a month from the Beta mine, 15 000 t a month from the Rietfontein mine, 15 000 t a month from the Frankfort mine and 10 000 t to 20 000 t a month near the end of the CDM mine’s LoM. The existing mining infrastructure will be used, with the addition of new accesses, underground development and predevelopment of the mining grids to access the planned mining areas at Beta, Frankfort and CDM.

At Rietfontein, the existing adits and underground development will be used with the addition of new development ends, a new decline and the extension of an existing decline.

The mining strategy for the underground operations is to apply mechanised longhole drilling to narrow-reef mining to selectively mine out only the reef channel, with minimal dilution at Beta, Frankfort and CDM.

Rietfontein will be mined conventionally using shrinkage stoping, with hybrid loading methods between trackless load-haul-dump and rail-bound locomotives.

The processing plant will have a feed capacity of 45 000 t/m.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
In the base case, the project has a net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $324-million at an average $1 642/oz and an internal rate of return of 65%. Based on these figures, the project has a forecast after-tax payback period of 31 months.

Capital Expenditure
The estimated development capital or peak funding requirement is $77-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Theta will be commissioning the plant by end of 2026 and processing ore in the first quarter of 2027.

Latest Developments
Theta Gold Mines has secured commitments totalling A$51.4-million in debt and equity to advance the project.

The company has received binding commitments from professional and sophisticated investors in a placement managed by Bell Potter Securities and CLSA Australia.

The debt component comprises a A$15.2-million loan facility with private investors, with terms similar to an existing $35-million loan that Theta has in place with South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation.

The equity component of $36.3-million comprises a $12-million placement to professional and sophisticated investors at an issue price of A$0.21 apiece, as well as $22.8-million from private cornerstone investors – Cong Yu Company and Moonx Intelligence – at an issue price of A$0.155 apiece in two tranches.

Theta has also received a binding commitment from NC New Energy, which is an associate of nonexecutive director Brett Tang, totalling A$1.5-million, or A$0.155 apiece, and is subject to shareholder approval.

Additionally, Theta plans to allow for retail shareholders to participate through a share purchase plan to offer eligible shareholders to raise up to A$2-million if fully subscribed.

The placement and share purchase plan will also involve attaching options for every 2.38 shares subscribed for.

The fundraising, which is expected to be completed by the end of November, will enable the company to conduct infrastructure works such as roads, earthworks and civil construction for a new TGME processing plant, a tailings storage facility and water management infrastructure.

The funds will strengthen the company’s balance sheet and provide momentum to progress project activities and general working capital.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Met63 (detailed design and costing of processing plant designed for a feed capacity of 45 000 t a month); YRC (construction of gold plant, tailings storage facility and wastewater dams); and PICM and Mainpro (critical earthworks and civil phase of TGME); and RM Process and Eco Elementum (processing plant and owners' engineers – civil engineering).

Contact Details for Project Information
Theta Gold Mines, tel +61 2 8046 7584 or email info@thetagoldmines.com.