RE: News begore the AGM17 Aug 2022 17:49
Sometimes it's good to look back at the original study....
The Conceptual Study concluded that the Racecourse deposit contains significant low-grade tonnes of copper and gold which may be economically recoverable at copper sale prices above US$4/lb. Optimal believe that the economic recovery and processing of ore with low grades between 0.1 - 0.2% Cu is pivotal for the economic viability of the Racecourse project, with the sensitivity analysis showing that for each 0.05% drop in cut-off grade the NPV drops by as much as AU$341 million. Overall, Optimal believe that taking account of the project's large size and relatively low grade, conditions should support the efficient and productive mining of the deposit. Optimisation of the processing plant capacity, capital cost, metallurgical recoveries and operating cost will improve the economic viability, and further opportunities exist to:
- Increase the size of the current Inferred Resource which will be critical to project viability;
- Analyse lower production rates, such as 12 or 15mpta;
- Evaluate further phase 1 and 2 pit designs; and
- Optimise dump development and the rehabilitation schedule.