Focus Minerals Ltd.'s pre-feasibility study confirmed the financial and technical viability of underground mining at the Bonnie Vale deposit and open pit mining at the Greenfields and Brilliant deposits, part of its Coolgardie gold property in Western Australia.

The study comprises a maiden ore reserve for the Bonnie Vale deposit of 625,000 tonnes at 6.16 g/t of gold for 123,700 contained ounces and a maiden ore reserve for the Greenfields deposit of 1 million tonnes at 1.45 g/t of gold for 47,100 contained ounces.

Based on just the ore reserves, the study estimated a mine plan with a pretax net present value, discounted at 7.5%, of A$37 million and a 28% internal rate of return, assuming a gold price of A$1,580 per ounce.

Average gold production is expected at 32,000 ounces per year with a mine life of just over four years, according to the Oct. 13 release.

The study estimated a CapEx requirement of A$53 million, mostly for underground development at Bonnie Vale. The mining and processing operating expenditure is estimated at A$80 million and A$61 million, respectively, with total costs of A$1,201 per ounce.

The total net cash flow at Coolgardie is estimated at A$53 million.

The proposed mine plan assumes that the development of the deposits will be funded through Focus' current cash reserves, the company noted.