Pershing Gold Corp. said May 30 that a feasibility study on the past-producing Relief Canyon gold-silver property in Nevada defined a net present value of US$133 million, using a 5% discount rate, with an 87% internal rate of return and US$176 million in net cash flow, all after taxes.
The proposed open pit operation is expected to produce 91,000 ounces of gold per year over 5.6 years, with all-in sustaining costs of US$801/oz.
Initial CapEx is estimated at US$28.2 million, with sustaining CapEx and working capital pegged at US$14.8 million and US$10.2 million, respectively.
Pershing Gold plans to use contract mining and heap leach cyanidation of primary crushed ore, with 81% gold recovery predicted.
The company has a two-phase permitting and development scenario, subject to securing project financing.
Phase one, already approved, includes the partial backfill of the phase-one pit to eliminate a pit lake, a build-out of the heap leach pad to accommodate phase-one ore and the construction of a new waste rock storage facility.
Phase two will include additional mine expansion and will enable further mining below the water table, the company said. The mine plan in the feasibility study will be used as the basis for its phase-two permit application that is targeted for submission by midyear.
