More gold in Twin Hills
Osino drills to define its massive gold resource
Augetto Graig - Osino Resources has called for public meetings today (31 August 2021) at the Scientific Society in Windhoek, at the Central Hotel in Omaruru tomorrow, and at the Karibib Town Hall on Thursday, to consult about its massive gold mining project, incompliance with Namibian legislation.
Recently it announced further results from its infill and expansion drill campaign at the Twin Hills gold project outside Karibib. Seven diamond and three RC drill rigs are on site to complete the infill and expansion drill campaign by November 2021.
On 14 July, Osino reported an impressive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) promising a 15-year life-of-mine with processing capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year, with gold recovery of over 90% using conventional three-stage crushing and ball milling and carbon-in-leach processing layout, amounting to an average gold production of 99 000 ounces per year.
The Twin Hills Gold Project is located within Namibia’s prospective Damara sedimentary mineral belt, in proximity to and along strike of the producing, open-pit Navachab and Otjikoto gold mines. The financial model was completed on a 100% project basis and includes a 3% gross royalty and 1% export levy to the Namibian government. The economic analysis carried out for the project uses a cash-flow model at a base gold price of US$1 700 per ounce of gold and a 5% discount rate.
Based on those assumptions, Lycopodium Minerals Africa assess that the project would generate US$579 million before tax net present value, and US$377 million after tax. Life-of-mine cashflow is expected to be US$560 million after tax.
In the release Heye Daun, Osino’s co-founder, president and CEO, is quoted: “We are very pleased with the results of this PEA which demonstrates that Twin Hills is what we always said it would be, namely a simple, economically robust and attractive open-pit gold project with significant upside. It is geologically consistent, metallurgically simple and technically low risk with a low capital intensity and significant future upside. We are proud to have been able to deliver this PEA within less than two years of discovery and our vision for the next two years is to unlock its true upside potential and to advance the project to the construction stage.”
It should be noted that there is scope for significant optimisation and improvement to the mine design and production schedule, which will be reflected together with an updated mineral resource in the next technical assessment of the project, according to the assessment.
Already a total 70 000 m of in-fill and expansion drilling has been completed on the three zones of mineralisation at Bulge, Twin Hills Central and Clouds East, which together make up the Twin Hills gold resource. The drilling is focused on converting the bulk of the resource to the measured and indicated categories, as well as expanding the mineralisation down dip. As expected, the infill drilling has filled in several gaps in the previous grade shell and will add greater confidence to the next iteration of the Twin Hills mineral resource.
The campaign of expansion drilling has taken the mineralisation at Clouds East from 150 m to over 200 m below surface, and the deep drilling at Bulge indicates that the deposit is open below 400 m.
David Underwood, Osino’s vice president for exploration, said: “Recent results at the Clouds East deposit indicate that the previously intersected high-grade shoot increases in width and grade with depth. This expansion at Clouds East offers potential for significant additional ounces when the next resource estimate is published, as intended for early 2022. The deep drilling at Bulge has also extended the consistently wide mineralized zone down to 400 m below surface, with no indication of it closing off. This development also indicates the possibility of taking the pit to greater depths in the next resource estimate.
“With 11 drill rigs active at the moment we continue to generate a wealth of geological and assay data, and our understanding of the Twin Hills gold system and its growth potential continues to evolve. We are excited about what the next few months of infill, extension and brownfields exploration drilling will reveal.”
A geological map of the bedrock beneath the calcrete cover has been compiled from the drill hole data, structural measurements on core and the detailed ground magnetic data. Osino expects to complete approximately 115 km of combined DD and RC drilling during 2021. This new understanding of the structural controls will help prioritise extension drilling as well as future brownfields exploration targets at Twin Hills.
Osino also announced entering into of purchase agreement with Cedric Shilongo under which Osino Prospect is to acquire shares 20% in the capital of Terrace Minerals Exploration. Terrace holds exclusive prospecting licence number 5658 in the Erongo Region. The consideration to be paid is comprised of N$1 million in shares and N$1.5 million in cash.
[email protected]
Recently it announced further results from its infill and expansion drill campaign at the Twin Hills gold project outside Karibib. Seven diamond and three RC drill rigs are on site to complete the infill and expansion drill campaign by November 2021.
On 14 July, Osino reported an impressive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) promising a 15-year life-of-mine with processing capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year, with gold recovery of over 90% using conventional three-stage crushing and ball milling and carbon-in-leach processing layout, amounting to an average gold production of 99 000 ounces per year.
The Twin Hills Gold Project is located within Namibia’s prospective Damara sedimentary mineral belt, in proximity to and along strike of the producing, open-pit Navachab and Otjikoto gold mines. The financial model was completed on a 100% project basis and includes a 3% gross royalty and 1% export levy to the Namibian government. The economic analysis carried out for the project uses a cash-flow model at a base gold price of US$1 700 per ounce of gold and a 5% discount rate.
Based on those assumptions, Lycopodium Minerals Africa assess that the project would generate US$579 million before tax net present value, and US$377 million after tax. Life-of-mine cashflow is expected to be US$560 million after tax.
In the release Heye Daun, Osino’s co-founder, president and CEO, is quoted: “We are very pleased with the results of this PEA which demonstrates that Twin Hills is what we always said it would be, namely a simple, economically robust and attractive open-pit gold project with significant upside. It is geologically consistent, metallurgically simple and technically low risk with a low capital intensity and significant future upside. We are proud to have been able to deliver this PEA within less than two years of discovery and our vision for the next two years is to unlock its true upside potential and to advance the project to the construction stage.”
It should be noted that there is scope for significant optimisation and improvement to the mine design and production schedule, which will be reflected together with an updated mineral resource in the next technical assessment of the project, according to the assessment.
Already a total 70 000 m of in-fill and expansion drilling has been completed on the three zones of mineralisation at Bulge, Twin Hills Central and Clouds East, which together make up the Twin Hills gold resource. The drilling is focused on converting the bulk of the resource to the measured and indicated categories, as well as expanding the mineralisation down dip. As expected, the infill drilling has filled in several gaps in the previous grade shell and will add greater confidence to the next iteration of the Twin Hills mineral resource.
The campaign of expansion drilling has taken the mineralisation at Clouds East from 150 m to over 200 m below surface, and the deep drilling at Bulge indicates that the deposit is open below 400 m.
David Underwood, Osino’s vice president for exploration, said: “Recent results at the Clouds East deposit indicate that the previously intersected high-grade shoot increases in width and grade with depth. This expansion at Clouds East offers potential for significant additional ounces when the next resource estimate is published, as intended for early 2022. The deep drilling at Bulge has also extended the consistently wide mineralized zone down to 400 m below surface, with no indication of it closing off. This development also indicates the possibility of taking the pit to greater depths in the next resource estimate.
“With 11 drill rigs active at the moment we continue to generate a wealth of geological and assay data, and our understanding of the Twin Hills gold system and its growth potential continues to evolve. We are excited about what the next few months of infill, extension and brownfields exploration drilling will reveal.”
A geological map of the bedrock beneath the calcrete cover has been compiled from the drill hole data, structural measurements on core and the detailed ground magnetic data. Osino expects to complete approximately 115 km of combined DD and RC drilling during 2021. This new understanding of the structural controls will help prioritise extension drilling as well as future brownfields exploration targets at Twin Hills.
Osino also announced entering into of purchase agreement with Cedric Shilongo under which Osino Prospect is to acquire shares 20% in the capital of Terrace Minerals Exploration. Terrace holds exclusive prospecting licence number 5658 in the Erongo Region. The consideration to be paid is comprised of N$1 million in shares and N$1.5 million in cash.
[email protected]
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