CEO Phil Wilding will be presenting at the RIU Explorers Conference at Fremantle on the 18th of this month. Before the 18th we are due for a drilling ann, that will be followed by a Pathways to Production update that will form the basis for Phil’s presentation.
After that we should be getting a new research update from Euroz Hartley.
With 6 drilling rigs on the extensional and exploration drilling program there will be more gold ozs from some good, perhaps spectacular, hits announced next week.
This new gold will add to the PFS Mineral Resource Estimate and most of it will go into the Reserve currently 3.8Mt @ 4.4. g/t for 546 kozs.
The PFS based on that reserve generated a free cash flow of $1.3B at a POG of $3.700/oz.
Today’s spot price is around $4,600/oz.
The Reserve in the upcoming DFS will not just be bigger but a higher grade.
1 There will be less lower grade inferred gold in the DFS.
2 There will be less Development ore and more Stoping ore.
Development ore (ore drives built to access stopes) is lower grade.
The DFS will have a higher proportion of Stope ore to Development drive ore..
3 High grade zones such as United North are being targeted in the current drilling campaign.
The higher grade ore in the DFS will lower the AISC and lift the free cash flow.
In the DFS, the combination of more gold in the mining plan, higher grade ore and a much higher price of gold will generate outstanding metrics.
Rox may report that the underground drilling platforms are in place.
These enable faster and lower cost drilling to support the first 2 years or so of underground production.
Deeper extensional drilling from underground is much more cost-effective and will be the preferred mode.
Rox should report that the repairs to the evaporation ponds have been completed.
Could permanent pumping stations have been established and running 24/7 to move the water? Rox will update.
Likely, the option of discharging water to Lake Noondie 23km to the east remains on hold. Miscellaneous Licence L57/59 was granted to Rox in. April to allow Rox to install the necessary infrastructure (access road, pipeline etc) for dewatering to the lake. But Rox does not have a licence to discharge water to the lake, and that requires heritage and environmental approvals. Rox may update.
Rox will report on environmental permitting progress, a key step to gaining a Mining Licence..
Many companies become stuck at the stage of getting the environmental approvals needed before a Mining Licence can be issued.
Delays of more than a year are common eg if the presence of a single threatened species is located in a survey.
Rox has been far-sighted in this regard and started the environmental approvals process in 2022.
Rox commissioned Native Vegetation Solutions (NVS) to complete a reconnaissance flora and vegetation at Youanmi.
The following report would be the envy of many companies on the development pathway.
It is as good as it gets for a quick and seamless pathway to securing a mining licence.
The survey of the Youanmi Project covered an area of approximately 1,751 hectares, including the United North Landfill area. The reconnaissance flora survey also incorporated a targeted threatened flora search. The survey and search results were Page 6 of 19 REC-EC-116D Rev 6 was summarised into a Memo (NVS 2022), which is provided with this MP as Appendix 2 and quoted below.
The general vegetation group descriptions within the survey area is described as a
Mulga shrubland with emergent Eucalyptus spp, and also a Mulga creek line (NVS
2022). Six weed species were recorded within the survey area, Nicotiana glauca (Tree
Tobacco) Citrullus amarus (Pie Melon), Lysimachia arvensis (Pimpernel), Rumex
vesicarius (Ruby Dock), Salvia verbenaca (Wild Sage) and Sonchus oleraceus
(Common Sowthistle). None of these species are considered Declared Pests (DPIRD,
2022).
The Threatened and Priority Flora database searches revealed a potential for no
Threatened and two Priority Flora species to occur within a 20 km radius of the survey
area (DBCA, 2022). No known locations of Threatened or Priority Flora occur within the
MP area (NVS 2022), with the closest being approximately 800 metres to the west and
would not be disturbed. The record is of Euryomyrtus recurva (P3), from 1975. The
known location was searched, however no plants recognised as Euryomyrtus were
observed in the general area. The description of the location is given as an Acacia
aneura - Callitris vegetation association. No Callitris spp. were observed in the general
area, therefore it is assumed that the GPS location within the database is not accurate
(NVS 2022).
No Priority Flora were located or Malleefowl mounds observed within the Survey area
(NVS 2022).
No Threatened Ecological Communities (TECs) or Priority Ecological Communities
(PECs) were recorded in the survey area. No unique or restricted vegetation
communities were identified, and all vegetation types/communities are common,
widespread and well represented in the Eastern Murchison subregion.
The mine site area is highly disturbed. The landfill sits on top of the existing United
North Waste Dump, which is under rehabilitation. However, limited recruitment of
vegetation has occurred due to the lack of topsoil. Vegetation that has re-established
comprises vegetation largely adapted to more saline conditions; ie. Salt Bush.
A desktop fauna assessment was completed by Clark Lindbeck & Associates (CLA) in
2022 (CLA 2022). The purpose was to assess the potential occurrence of fauna species
of conservation significance in the Project area and surrounds, and to address potential
impacts of the project on conservation significant fauna.
It was considered that Malleefowl (Leiopoa ocellata), Peregrine Falcon (Falco
peregrinus) and Northern shield-backed trapdoor spider (Idiosoma clypeatum) could
potentially occur in the Project surrounds, given the proximity of DBCA records and
potential suitable habitat in the Project area surrounds (CLA 2022). This potential
habitat is outside the project area and will not be disturbed as part of this MP.
CLA identified the project area to be highly disturbed, rehabilitation works have had
limited success and cats, dogs, goats and cattle (active grazing on adjacent Pastoral
station) have been seen in the Project area. Based on these findings, CLA considered it
highly unlikely to support any conservation significant fauna, and therefore, the Landfill
MP project will not impact the conservation significance of any fauna species (CLA
2022).
(20min delay)