The high price of gold (AU$3.093 oz Au) is transforming the profitability of gold miners and according to UBS and other global financial institutions is likely to go a lot higher this year. While less recognised, the price of gold is also transforming the prospects of small cap miners like Rox heading towards production.Recently, Wiluna Gold rose from the dead to announce a PFS showing a strong free cash flow on a moderate Capex based on a gold price assumption of $2,880.
Arguably that is a conservative POG. Ventrex Metals has just released a PFS based on a price assumption of $3,000.
Rox’s 2022 Scoping Study was based on a price of gold assumption of just $2,450.
Their PFS targeted for June will be based on a gold assumption of between $450 and $550 Oz higher.
Looking at the Scoping Study below the higher POG turbo-charges all the metrics such as the free cash flow.
The 2022 Scoping Study data applies to a significant portion of the current indicated resource of 1.1Moz at 6.1 g/t Au, which will form the basis for the PFS.
Profitability also depends on the cost of mining and it will be interesting to see the AISC in the June PFS. But the high POG makes it much more likely that Rox can achieve an impressive AISC margin.
This is a good time to have a mining engineer and feasibility specialist running the company.
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