Aim- and OTCQB-listed gold exploration and development company Lexington Gold’s joint venture (JV) Jelani Resources has engaged Bara Consulting to conduct an updated study on the Jelani Resources project, in South Africa’s Free State province.

The incorporated Jelani Resources JV is between White Rivers Exploration – which is 76% owned by Lexington Gold and 24% owned by its black economic empowerment partner – and NYSE- and JSE-listed Harmony Gold subsidiaries Lorraine Gold Mines and Avgold.

The updated study will be conducted at a conceptual level and will focus principally on validating and refining the proposed mining approach and engineering concepts assuming the use of existing infrastructure, but only to the extent that its availability to Jelani Resources has been confirmed. This will be done to support a potential mining right application.

"This workstream will provide an updated technical and economic assessment of the Jelani Resources project, forming the foundation for potential future project development.

“By leveraging the existing available infrastructure, where possible, and following sound engineering principles, we aim to optimise the project's economics and thereby seek to unlock significant future value," Lexington Gold nonexecutive chairperson Ed Nealon said on March 17.

The scope of the study was prepared in close consultation with Harmony Gold to ensure alignment of the project's requirements and the confirmed available infrastructure.

The study will assess and refine the mining approach and engineering concepts that were previously developed during an equivalent study done in 2019, with a particular focus on optimising the use of the confirmed available infrastructure.

The proposed mining strategy includes use of the confirmed available infrastructure to potentially support early stage mining activities, as well as progressive development of access routes to facilitate extraction from deeper portions of the orebody. The proposed strategy will also focus on processing through existing available facilities where appropriate to enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Alternative scenarios, including the potential construction of a standalone processing plant and continuous mining operations, will also be considered.

A comprehensive update of the proposed mine layout and scheduling will also be undertaken to reflect updated economic parameters and operating cost structures, as well as adjustments to the mine layout to align it with revised cut-off grade analysis.

The update of the proposed mine layout will also seek to optimise ore extraction while considering the confirmed available infrastructure capacities. It will also consider infrastructure-sharing opportunities in the region.

The study will also take into account the minimisation of new environmental permitting requirements by maximising the use of the confirmed available infrastructure.

It will also consider the updating of the social and labour plan in line with regulatory requirements and will review available water use and tailings storage capacity to ensure regulatory compliance.

The study will also include capital and operating cost modelling incorporating updated cost data, along with a discounted cash flow analysis to assess project economics.

In addition, a sensitivity analysis be conducted to evaluate the project's robustness under different scenarios.

Lastly, a final report will be compiled detailing the study's findings, including mine layouts and schedules.

The study is expected to take about three months to complete.