West Australian gold company Focus Minerals plans to resume processing operations at the Coolgardie gold project in 2023.
A new Life-of-Mine plan for the resumption is aiming to produce 402,000 ounces of gold produced over a seven-year period, with a pre-commencement Capex of $51.8 million.
Focus is the largest landholder in the Coolgardie gold belt with over 450sq km of tenements in close proximity to its Three Mile Hill mill.
It suspended production in Coolgardie in 2013 in response to lower gold prices allowing it to concentrate on the exploration of the wider Coolgardie area within the Focus tenements, while also looking to expand its near mill mineable reserves targeting higher grade, larger scale ore bodies.
Focus Minerals executive chairman Wanghong Yang said the company’s diligent and disciplined work in refining elements of the production scenario had given it a high-confidence plan with sustainable and profitable operations for at least seven years.
“The good work of the Focus team has enabled a consultative approach with our contracting partners to develop a sound pathway to production in a highly competitive mining industry environment. We will continue to improve our plan at Coolgardie as we look to maximise value from our significant tenement and resource package,” he said.
A $39.7 million EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract for refurbishment of the project’s Three Mile Hill plant has been awarded to MACA Interquip, with its commissioning scheduled for mid-2023.