Vancouver — As Romarco Minerals (R-V, RTRAF-O) progresses towards a feasibility study of the past-producing Haile gold mine in South Carolina, drilling continues to push the extension of the North zone well beyond the limits used in a September resource estimate.
That estimate pegged Haile at 35 million tonnes grading 1.34 grams gold per tonne for a total of 1.5 million oz. gold.
Romarco drilled most of the latest holes in an area north of the proposed Ledbetter pit, the central open pit among several the company plans to develop on the property. West of Ledbetter is the South pit and to the east is the Snake pit.
Hole 325, for example, hit 82 metres grading 2.1 grams gold per tonne starting 202 metres down-hole and hole 323 returned 98 metres grading 4.9 grams gold starting 181 metres down-hole.
Romarco says some of the results released since the September resource estimate are included in a now completed feasibility study that has not yet been released. The feasibility will expand on plans outlined in a 2007 scoping study.
In the scoping study, Romarco proposed a 4,000-tonne-per-day mine with a six-year mine life. In years two through five of the mining schedule, Romarco estimated the mine would produce about 105,000 oz. gold per year.
At US$650-per-oz. gold, the project generated a US$25.5 million net present value (NPV) at a 6% discount rate and an internal rate of return (IRR) 11.7%. At US$750-per-oz. gold, the NPV was 57.2% at the same discount rate and the IRR was 19%.
Romarco estimated cash costs at US$350-per-oz. gold and capital costs at US$94 million.
The company based the plan, however, on a considerably smaller measured and indicated resource of 7.8 million tonnes grading 2.8 grams gold.
So when Romarco nearly doubled the measured and indicated contained gold at Haile to 1.5 million oz. this September, the junior’s chief operating officer, Ken Brunk, said in a statement that the company would increase planned throughput by 3,000 tonnes per day and consider a second, 7,000-tonne-per-day circuit.
Now, with the growing extension of the mineralized area in the North zone, Romarco may also be adding more ounces of gold to its resource estimate at Haile.
On news of the latest results, Romarco gained 2¢ to close at 16¢. It has about 200 million shares outstanding.
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