Mid-tier gold production and exploration company Gold Road Resources (ASX: GOR) confirms it has now received and reviewed the Gruyere underground scoping study and presents the Gruyere underground exploration target estimate by Gold Road, which was derived from the results of the scoping study completed by SRK Consulting.
The Gruyere JV is a 50:50 joint venture with Gold Fields Ltd (JSE: GFI), which manages and operates the Gruyere gold mine, located 1000km north-east of Perth.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The scoping study outlines a sub-level cave underground mining option, determined at a A$2,240 per ounce gold price, capable of sustaining Gruyere production at scale.
- The scoping study confirms key inputs and investigates the technical and economic viability of underground mining at Gruyere.
- Gold Road’s Mineral Resource (exclusive of the Ore Reserve at Gruyere) is 45 million tonnes at 1.51 g/t Au for 2.2 million ounces on a 50% basis, with the potential to add significantly to the resource base through the ongoing exploration drill program.
- Initial infrastructure capital cost is estimated at $470 million with total infrastructure capital estimated at $588 million on a 100% basis, which includes underground bulk material handling, ventilation, services, maintenance facilities and a 30% contingency. Gold Road is comfortable that the estimate is commensurate with a scoping-level study.
The existing exploration results and work conducted as part of the scoping study provide Gold Road with sufficient information to calculate an exploration target in relation to the underground potential of the Gruyere mine and in accordance with the JORC Code, the ASX Listing Rules and ASX Guidance Note 31.
The Gruyere underground exploration target estimate ranges from approximately 25 to 31 million tonnes at 1.20 to 1.47 g/t for 1.0 to 1.5 million ounces on a 50% basis.
The potential quality and grade of the exploration target are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and there is no certainty that further exploration work will result in the determination of a Mineral Resource. The exploration target is additional to the portion of the existing Mineral Resource that may be the subject of any underground expansion.
The Gruyere JV has committed $26.4 million to the drill program to be completed by mid-2026. The 60,000m drill program beneath the Gruyere open pit is designed to confirm that the orebody extends at depth. The drill program is targeting deeper ore zones to approximately 700m below the final Ore Reserve pit design to achieve an Inferred Mineral Resource level of confidence, and infill drilling within the upper 400m section of the conceptual underground resource to achieve an Indicated Mineral Resource level of confidence. Initial results from the program confirm the quality, consistency and continuity of the Gruyere orebody at depth.
The next steps to improve confidence in the potential of a Gruyere underground operation include completing the extensive drill program that is currently underway and other associated activities to support a pre-feasibility study in 2026.
“As Gold Road has long maintained; the underground mining potential has the ability to transform Gruyere into a multi-decade life mine, and is expected to add material value to the Gruyere JV and Gold Road shareholders,” managing director Duncan Gibbs said.
“The results of this underground study, coupled with the commitment of $26 million from the Gruyere JV to confirm the orebody at depth, take us another step closer to realising the long-term value of mining operation at Gruyere.”
