Rox the 3m oz gold bet, page-2

The scoping study, published on October 19, focused on a project producing 71,000ozpa - in a mix of gold-in concentrate and carbon-in-leach bullion - at an average grade of 5g/t for a total output of about 569,000oz over an eight-year mine life. With pre-production capital expenditure of $100 million, Youanmi has a modest price tag for generating cashflow in a high inflationary environment.

Mr Ryan said the scoping study prioritised the high-grade, low-cost ounces of the Younami resource through the production of gold-in-concentrate. But Rox would not neglect the rest of the resource of 3.2 million ounce grading 3.57g/t.

“We’re only scratching the surface of Youanmi’s potential. Once we are generating cashflow, we can expand production and take advantage of economies of scale to profitably incorporate lower grade ore,” he said.

Mr Ryan, who took on the job three weeks ago after serving on Rox's board as a non-executive director since June, said he expected the pre-feasibility study to take about 12 months, in which time he hoped to significantly expand on Youanmi’s potential and work toward a maiden reserve for the project.

“There are many highly profitable Australian gold concentrate producers. In fact, gold concentrate accounts for about 12 per cent of the world’s gold production," he said.

"The Youanmi point of difference is our concentrate's low arsenic content. At about 2 per cent, it is well below the 6 per cent threshold required by international standards and does not need to be blended.

“We are already experiencing early interest from potential offtake partners.”