Mining News: Skeena examines staged GJ-Spectrum mines

Skeena Resources Ltd. April 20 published results from a preliminary economic assessment that investigates the potential of combined development of its Spectrum and GJ properties in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia. The Spectrum-GJ PEA includes open-pit mines at and the, which is about 14 kilometers (10 miles) to the northwest. The economic study calls for starting with a 10,000-metric-ton-per-day mine at the porphyry copper-gold Donnelly deposit on the GJ side of the project; ramping up to 20,000 metric tons per day in year six, when mining of the porphyry gold-copper Central zone deposit at Spectrum begins; and reaching 30,000 metric tons per day in year 12. The PEA was based on an updated resource estimate for both deposits. The Donnelly deposit hosts 215.2 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.26 percent (1.24 billion pounds) copper, 0.31 grams per metric ton (2.14 million ounces) gold and 1.9 g/t (13 million oz) silver. Spectrum hosts 31.2 million metric tons of indicated resource averaging 0.1 percent (67.7 million lb) copper, 0.94 g/t (940,000 oz) gold and 2.6 g/t (2.64 million oz) silver. Additionally, Spectrum hosts 29.8 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 0.12 percent (76.4 million lb) copper, 0.47 g/t (450,000 oz) gold and 1.4 g/t (1.34 million oz) silver. This is enough resource to support 25 years of mining, according to the plan laid out in the PEA. Under base case price assumptions – US$2.75/lb copper, US$1,250/oz gold and US$17.75/oz silver – the PEA estimates this operation would return a post-tax net present value (8 percent discount) of C$314.1 million, an internal rate of return of 20.6 percent and a payback on initial investment of 4.2 years. This project has initial capital expenditures of C$216 million and benefits from the presence of existing infrastructure on or adjacent to the project area, including grid hydro-power and road access with 10 kilometers (six miles) of the planned processing plant site. The company said there are plenty of areas to improve and expand this project, including resource expansion, centrally locating the processing plant and mine tailings storage, and adding a carbon-in-leach plant for improved gold recovery.

–SHANE LASLEY