Orezone’s Bomboré Gold Project has positive PEA
Orezone Gold Corporation (ORE:TSX) is pleased to announce the results of a positive NI 43‑101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment that evaluates the potential of both open pit heap leach (HL) and carbon-in-leach (CIL) scenarios for its 100% owned Bomboré Gold Project in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The study demonstrates that both scenarios are potentially economically feasible if inferred resources can be substantially upgraded to the indicated category and more extensive technical studies confirm the preliminary information available for the study. The base case financial model yields an after tax IRR of 9.9% (HL) and 6.9% (CIL) to Orezone, using Whittle pit shells based on a $1000/oz gold price, revenues based on a $1100/oz gold price, $80/bbl oil and all other costs being current market. The after tax IRR improves to 27.8% (HL) and 19.7% (CIL) from revenues at a $1500/oz gold price, $120/bbl oil and the same $1000/oz Whittle pit shells. The results of the study provide confidence for Bomboré to move forward with a target for production in 2015, and a $24 million drilling and feasibility budget approved for 2011/12.
Orezone is currently completing a major 170,000 m infill and expansion drill program to increase and upgrade the Bomboré resources. This program is approximately 33% complete and represents a 140% increase in the total drilling on the project. By month end, the Company will have six drills on the project working around the clock. The current drill program should be complete by Q1‑2012 and the next complete resource update is Q2-2012. The pit shells hosting the current resources span over 11 km, are based on an average drill depth of only 60 m, and exhibit 35,000 oz of gold per vertical meter above a lower cut-off of 0.35 g Au/t. Drill results from the 2011 program are broadly in line with the current model and confirm that the resources can be expanded near surface and at depth. Although the plan is to complete a full feasibility study in 2012, drilling will continue as long as resources continue to expand.
The study was completed by G Mining Services Inc. of Montreal, Canada, and is based on the NI 43‑101 compliant resource estimate reported in Orezone’s press release dated October 19, 2010, which includes 60.9 million tonnes of indicated mineral resources at a grade of 0.81g/t for 1.6 million oz of gold plus 60.6 million tonnes of inferred mineral resources at a grade of 0.96g/t for 1.9 million oz.(based on all drill data to August, 2010). G Mining was not mandated and did not audit the NI 43-101 resources previously prepared, audited and reported. The CIL scenario is based on the indicated and inferred resources in saprolite, transition or saprock, and fresh rock; the HL scenario is limited to the saprolite and transition resources because the fresh rock indicates relatively poor heap leach gold recoveries.
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