お知らせ • Jan 25
Bravada Gold Corporation Files Technical Report for Wind Mountain Au/Ag Project, Nevada, Including Phase I PEA Results
Bravada Gold Corporation reported that it has filed a technical report (the Report) prepared in accordance with Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). The Report dated January 20, 2023 and entitled Updated Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment, Wind Mountain Gold-Silver Project, located in Washoe County, Nevada, was prepared by RESPEC Company LLC (RESPEC, formerly Mine Development Associates), Woods Process Services, and Debra Struhsacker, Bravada's Environmental Permitting and Government Relations Consultant. Economics have improved significantly compared to the Company's 2012 study due to utilizing a near-mine, heap-leach pad site for a portion of the Pit-constrained resource and higher grades for early mining, which were predicted and then verified by drilling during 2021. To add additional mine life, a Phase II pad site has been identified due north of the Phase I site but was not considered during the current PEA. Although Pad II is somewhat farther from the currently identified Pit-constrained resource, it is located very close to outcropping mineralization at the North Hill target area, which has only been tested with minor drilling. Other potential additions to mine life that the Phase I PEA did not consider include mineralization at the South End target and historic waste rock piles where the Company has identified potentially recoverable gold and silver. There are no material differences in the Mineral Resource or the Phase I PEA results contained in the Report from those disclosed in the December 8, 2022 news release, except that the Revenue portion of the Sensitivity Table has been corrected in the table below. After verifying and slightly modifying the Wind Mountain 2012 Global Resource based on subsequent drilling, which was confirmed to within <1%, a total Pit-constrained Resource was calculated by RESPEC utilizing the approximate 3-year trailing-average, base-case price of $1,750 per ounce of gold and $21 per ounce of silver. Phase I Preliminary Economic Assessment for a Close-in Heap-leach Site: The Phase I Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) assumes open-pit, contract mining with conventional trucks and shovels and run-of-mine leaching. The base-case economic model is summarized below in US dollars and Imperial units (some values rounded): Resource inside the pits for Phase I PEA = 29.2 million tons of Indicated Resource @ 0.011 oz Au/t & 0.267 oz Ag/t and 1.08 million tons of Inferred Resource at 0.009 oz Au/t and 0.173 oz Ag/t, both at a cut-off grade of 0.008 oz Au/t. Oxide mineralization = 30.2 million tons and Mixed oxide/sulfide = 0.01 million tons. Gold & Silver Ounces mined = 344,000 oz Au and 7,975,000 oz Ag. Gold & Silver Ounces produced = 213,000 oz Au (recovery 61.9%) & 1,194,000 oz Ag (recovery 15%) or 227,000 oz Au-eq. Waste: Ore Strip ratio = 0.55:1. Capital = Initial capital of $46.6 million with $19.8 million sustaining capital. Mine Life = approximately 4.2 years of mining. After-tax Payback Period = 1.8 years. Life-of-mine cash cost = $1,045 per ounce Au. All-in Sustaining Costs = $1,175 per ounce Au. After-tax IRR = 38%. After-tax NVP@5% = $46.1 million. Sensitivity studies by RESPEC are presented in the table below. RESPEC notes that additional studies such as further metallurgical studies to evaluate crushing higher-grade portions of the deposit and grid drilling to delineate economic portions of the previously mined waste rock, which are given no value in the current model, could further enhance the economics. For example, RESPEC notes that 1.1 million tons of historic mine waste is currently classified as waste and must be removed during Phase I mining; however, results of limited drilling, surface sampling, and trenching by Bravada suggest the material contains potentially recoverable gold. RESPEC and Woods recommends that the material be placed in a stockpile for additional study or utilized as over liner on the leach pads; the material potentially would be added to the currently designed Phase I pad to further reduce the strip ratio and increase positive economics. Recommendations and 2023 Plans: The Report makes several specific recommendations to advance the property, including additional metallurgical testing, additional exploration drilling around the North Hill target, updating earlier biological and archaeological studies, and engaging nearby communities in the early planning stages. Costs for the next-stage work to culminate in a Pre-feasibility study is estimated at $768,000, not including costs for permitting and community engagement.