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October 2007
On October 4, 2007 Goldbelt announced the results of the Final Feasibility Study (“the Study”) for the Inata Project which was coordinated and compiled by GBM Minerals Engineering Consultants Limited (“GBM”) of London, England.
The Study outlines a 2,250,000 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) mill throughput utilizing a cyanide-in-leach (“CIL”) process plant and cash operating costs of US$ 336/oz. The project will have a 7 year mine life with payback after 2.7 years at a US$650/oz gold price. The Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) for the project is 49.75% and the undiscounted Net Present Value (“NPV”) is US$128.0 million.
A summary of the key technical parameters of the Study are shown below. All financial figures are quoted in US dollars, unless otherwise noted. Key Production and Financial Results
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Production: |
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Process Plant Throughput per Year |
2,250,000 tonnes |
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Gold Reserves (in situ) |
944,000 ounces |
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Gold Recovered |
893,000 ounces |
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Mine Life |
7 years |
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Metallurgical Recovery (average) 1 |
94% |
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Financial: |
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Initial Capital Cost |
$77 Million |
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Sustaining Capital 1 |
$10.8 Million |
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Cash Operating Costs 1,2 |
$336/oz |
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Total Cash Costs 1 ,2 |
$400/oz |
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Total Production Costs 1 ,2 |
$504/oz |
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Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 3, 4 |
49.75% |
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Net Present Value 4 (0% Discount) |
$128.0 Million |
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Pay Back Period |
2.7 years |
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1. Over the life of the mine
2. Per ounce gold
3. 100% equity basis
4. After tax, $650 per ounce of gold |
Note on costs:
(1) Total Production Costs are all operating costs including taxes, royalties, mine closure and rehabilitation and depreciation/amortisation
(2) Total Cash Costs are Total Production Costs excluding depreciation
(3) Cash Operating Costs are Cash Costs excluding taxes, royalties and closure/rehabilitation costs
Full details can be found in Goldbelt's press release, dated October 4, 2007.
July 2007
Goldbelt released an updated resource estimation for the Inata Deposit which included 6,582 meters of additional drilling (see news release dated July 3, 2007).
The new resource is estimated at 25.1 MT @ 1.7 g/t gold for 1,396,930 ounces of Measured and Indicated Resources (5.2 MT @ 2.3 g/t gold for 378,480 ounces of Measured Resources and 19.8 MT @ 1.6 g/t gold for 1,018,450 ounces of Indicated Resources) and an additional 7.1 MT @ 1.3 g/t gold for 297,910 ounces of Inferred Resources at Inata (includes the Sayouba and Minfo resources as previously estimated). This new estimation, calculated by Multiple Indicator Kriging (MIK) using an 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade, represents a 16% increase in the tonnage and a 16% increase in the contained gold of Measured and Indicated Resources from the previous estimate completed in March 2007.
April 2007
The Mining Permit for the Inata Gold Project has been granted by the government of Burkina Faso.
Prefeasibility Study - November 2006
Goldbelt received the Inata Prefeasibility Study from GBM MEC Ltd in November, 2006. The study concludes that Inata will process 635,000 ounces of gold, for an average annual gold production of 107,000 ounces of gold during the first five years. The average cash operating cost will be US$290 per ounce over a 6.1-year mine life.
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| Drilling at Inata in May, 2006 |
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