Cowal is similar to the big, low grade thingys around here. AISC is plausible, probably about right. 1g/t is no problem, if you have enough of it and your energy costs are low. Ya use big trucks and at that scale, can plan sustaining costs well in advance. Low risk, so low cost of capital.
The orebody is simple and ya just keep digging. Not like a structurally controlled WA mesothermal mine, where the variability in the ore means that plans constantly change and are reactive.
Where I am at the moment, the head grade is around 0.5g/t in a slightly complicated mesothermal orebody, overprinted by heavy oxidation, which makes it easy. Critically, the stuff heap leaches beautifully, being hosted by a porous sandstone, so process cost is about US$7.50.t, which is about he same cost for heal leach in Australia. Margins/oz here are about the same as Australia, but with twice as many people on the operation as in a more productive country, like OZ, but paid 2/3 as much. Energy costs about the same.
the Australian geology is far, far older than this stuff and various factors mean that we have few heap leach amenable orebodies that we've found so far. My view of Australian exploration is that we've only just scratched the surface. A change in thinking, a change in interpretation, and things start to pop out - read the Olympic Dam story.
The big thing here is exploration (about 30 years behind where we are) and productivity/man hour (I won't comment). My experience is that Australians are right up there, if not at the top, for productivity in our showcase operations. Ya gets good people and ya pays 'em well.
