SolGold PLC Announces Alpala Pre-Feasibility Study Update
SolGold has provided an update on the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the Alpala copper-gold project in Ecuador. The company is optimistic about a revised mining plan that focuses on selective mining methods, aiming for earlier access to resources and reduced pre-production capital costs. The Alpala deposit holds 2,663 Mt at 0.53% CuEq, containing significant copper, gold, and silver. The PFS is on track for late 2021 release, with potential mining advantages and cost savings highlighted. SolGold remains committed to delivering shareholder value amidst a growing market demand for copper.
- Revised mining plan aims for earlier resource access and reduced capital expenditures.
- Alpala deposit contains significant amounts of copper, gold, and silver.
- Optimistic projections for lower execution risks and faster production timelines.
- None.
BISHOPSGATE, LONDON / ACCESSWIRE / April 8, 2021 / The Board of Directors of SolGold (LSE & TSX code: SOLG) wishes to provide an update regarding progress of the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") with respect to the Alpala copper-gold porphyry project ("Project") on the Cascabel concession in northern Ecuador.
The Alpala Project Team and the Project Committee, chaired by Interim CEO Keith Marshall, are making good progress studying potential Alpala mine plans while addressing a number of mine development and metallurgical enhancements as well as potential upsides, and are continuing to target the release of the PFS in late 2021.
The Alpala deposit comprises 2,663 Mt at
The Company is confident that this revised approach being studied from that which was previously considered is much more beneficial for SolGold and will deliver significant shareholder value. The Company is currently expanding its team of experienced technical staff, with Ms Lisa Park, Head of Metallurgy having officially joined in recent days.
Key considerations that suggest the superiority of the revised approach currently being studied for the development of the Project include:
- much earlier access to the resource with shortest time to potential first production;
- a more selective mining approach, without sterilising the remaining resource, reducing dilution without compromising metal extraction;
- optimal size and orientation of an underground footprint with the potential for two extraction levels to minimise dilution and upfront development Capex; and
- mining of higher head grades in the earlier years of potential production.
The company is optimistic that the revised mine plan currently being studied as part of the PFS process could deliver similar metal production while mining significantly less material. This could result in potentially significant cost savings. The crushing, processing and waste storage requirements are also expected to be reduced accordingly as would, in this potential scenario, the upfront capex associated with these installations.
Anticipated benefits of the revised approach being studied include lower expected execution risks, lower expected pre-production capital and significantly reduced time to first potential production.
SolGold is also investigating options that could provide further upside to the value of the Project including:
- near-surface, open pittable mining options at and near the Alpala deposit;
- hydroelectric power options to reduce power costs;
- further metallurgical testing to increase copper, gold and silver recoveries; and
- electrification of underground production mobile plant, thereby reducing requirements for fuel, emission control and ventilation with additional likely reductions in capital expenditure and operating costs
A number of proof-of-concept level studies on these options have been initiated beginning with geotechnical and mining options. These are being followed with more detailed studies and are expected to be included in the designs for downstream processes and infrastructure. These studies are on track for the delivery of the PFS in late 2021.
The Company is of the view that the Alpala resource is one of the most significant copper-gold porphyry discoveries of the last decade. It has the potential to become a key source of future copper supply amid an expected growing medium-term market deficit, reflecting limited new project development, a declining base production and growing demand supported by the shift towards electrification and decarbonisation.
SolGold plans to provide further progress updates as the revised PFS advances during the remainder of the year.
Commenting on today's PFS update, SolGold Interim CEO, Keith Marshall said:
"The revised mine plan being studied underpins the whole of the Alpala Project. The plan being studied is smaller in scale initially, but a much more selective and simpler approach to mining the deposit. In my view, the big advantages of underground mining over open pit mining are sequencing and selectivity. With underground mining you can target which areas of the orebody you want to mine and when. The previously studied plan was the equivalent of an inverted open pit, with limited selectivity, that would likely have resulted in the mining of larger volumes of waste material.
We are now studying a plan that would introduce an upper extraction level that may offer earlier access to high grade material. We are also considering dual access, through shafts and a decline which might be developed from both ends concurrently. Through the study of the revised approach, we are hopeful of arriving at a plan that will not sterilise any of the resource, furthering SolGold's goal of developing the resource with a view to the interests of all stakeholders, particularly Ecuador.
I am very encouraged with the progress of the study of this revised approach and I am confident that it should offer a robust but flexible solution to the development of a mine at Alpala."
By order of the Board
Karl Schlobohm
Company Secretary
[1] See "Cascabel Property NI 43-101 Technical Report, Alpala Porphyry Copper-Gold-Silver Deposit - Mineral Resource Estimation, January 2021" with an Effective date: 18 March 2020 and Amended Date: 15 January 2021 (the "Amended Technical Report"), filed at www.Sedar.com on January 29, 2021.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.
CONTACTS
Karl Schlobohm SolGold Plc (Company Secretary) | Tel: +61 (0) 7 3303 0661 |
Ingo Hofmaier SolGold Plc (GM - Project & Corporate Finance) ihofmaier@solgold.com.au | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3823 2131 |
Fawzi Hanano SolGold Plc (Investors / Media) | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3823 2131 |
Follow us on twitter @SolGold_plc
ABOUT SOLGOLD
SolGold is a leading resources company focussed on the discovery, definition and development of world-class copper and gold deposits. In 2018, SolGold's management team was recognised by the "Mines and Money" Forum as an example of excellence in the industry and continues to strive to deliver objectives efficiently and in the interests of shareholders. SolGold is the largest and most active concession holder in Ecuador and is aggressively exploring the length and breadth of this highly prospective and gold-rich section of the Andean Copper Belt.
The Company operates with transparency and in accordance with international best practices. SolGold is committed to delivering value to its shareholders, while simultaneously providing economic and social benefits to impacted communities, fostering a healthy and safe workplace and minimizing the environmental impact.
Dedicated stakeholders
SolGold employs a staff of over 800 employees of whom
About Cascabel and Alpala
The Alpala deposit is the main target in the Cascabel concession, located on the northern section of the heavily endowed Andean Copper Belt, the entirety of which is renowned as the base for nearly half of the world's copper production. The project area hosts mineralisation of Eocene age, the same age as numerous Tier 1 deposits along the Andean Copper Belt in Chile and Peru to the south. The project base is located at Rocafuerte within the Cascabel concession in northern Ecuador, an approximately three-hour drive on sealed highway north of the capital Quito, close to water, power supply and Pacific ports.
Having fulfilled its earn-in requirements, SolGold is a registered shareholder with an unencumbered legal and beneficial
SolGold's Regional Exploration Drive
SolGold is using its successful and cost-efficient blueprint established at Alpala, and Cascabel generally, to explore for additional world class copper and gold projects across Ecuador. SolGold is the largest and most active concessionaire in Ecuador.
The Company wholly owns four other subsidiaries active throughout the country that are now focussed on thirteen high priority gold and copper resource targets, several of which the Company believes have the potential, subject to resource definition and feasibility, to be developed in close succession or even on a more accelerated basis compared to Alpala.
SolGold is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange (LSE/TSX: SOLG). The Company has on issue a total of 2,084,113,494 fully paid ordinary shares and 114,775,000 share options.
See www.solgold.com.au for more information. Follow us on twitter @SolGold plc
CAUTIONARY NOTICE
News releases, presentations and public commentary made by SolGold plc (the "Company") and its Officers may contain certain statements and expressions of belief, expectation or opinion which are forward looking statements, and which relate, inter alia, to interpretations of exploration results to date and the Company's proposed strategy, plans and objectives or to the expectations or intentions of the Company's Directors, including the plan for developing the Project currently being studied as well as the expectations of the Company as to the forward price of copper. Such forward-looking and interpretative statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the control of the Company that could cause the actual performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from such interpretations and forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, the reader should not rely on any interpretations or forward-looking statements; and save as required by the exchange rules of the TSX and LSE or by applicable laws, the Company does not accept any obligation to disseminate any updates or revisions to such interpretations or forward-looking statements. The Company may reinterpret results to date as the status of its assets and projects changes with time expenditure, metals prices and other affecting circumstances.
This release may contain "forward‑looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward‑looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans for developing its properties. Generally, forward‑looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".
Forward‑looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward‑looking information, including but not limited to: transaction risks; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; future prices of mineral prices; accidents, labour disputes and shortages and other risks of the mining industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, risks relating to the ability of exploration activities (including assay results) to accurately predict mineralization; errors in management's geological modelling and/or mine development plan; capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates; the preliminary nature of visual assessments; delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other required approvals; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; changes in equity markets; inflation; the global economic climate; fluctuations in commodity prices; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities, including drilling; delays in the development of projects; environmental risks; community and non-governmental actions; other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry; the ability of the Company to retain its key management employees and skilled and experienced personnel; and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward‑looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
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SOURCE: SolGold PLC
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FAQ
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