BG - The MD mentioned in a presentation recently (available on their website - RIU Feb 2016 preso) that with the sulfides, a further 30-50k oz per annum is 'possible'. Clearly he does not want to make it a 100% given that this will occur, but considering that the plant has for most of its history produced sulfides... well...
Now the sulphides circuit is 800k tpa, so with the 1.2mtpa you get approx 2mtpa. However, as BLK has made some smart decisions (which I readily admit has taken me a while to get my head around), with soft ore the 1.2mtpa goes to 1.7mpta. So... its all about can BLK find more soft ore.... if.. if they can, then the plant is capable of processing upwards of 2.5mtpa. At 1.8g/t, with a recovery rate of 90%, could see them hit approx 130k oz per year. If we use the average Sulfide grade of 2.5g/t, plus 1.8g/t for the main ore source, I get approx 147k ounces. The numbers obviously get more impressive if they can get the main ore grade up to perhaps 2g/t (most likely from U/G sources).
I guess in the end, BLK has the potential to be a 150k p.a producer if they can successfully upgrade the sulfides circuit (which I believe will cost $15m...?) and find more soft ore. With the ASIC sulfide costing approx $1150. That would surely be worth it with the AUD POG above $1700.
But... that should not be their main focus right now, all about proving to the market that they can stay on budget and get the plant in to commercial production ASAP.
BLK Price at posting:
46.0¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
