JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed PNX Metals has appointed engineering, consulting and contracting company GR Engineering Services as the study manager for the definitive feasibility study (DFS) of the Hayes Creek zinc/gold/silver project, in the Northern Territory.
GR Engineering will be tasked with the process design and engineering aspects of the project, including all the facilities, equipment and capital works required for the construction, commissioning and ramp-up of the process plant and associated infrastructure, PNX MD James Fox said in a statement on Friday.
The appointment, an important milestone and a key part of completing the DFS, will see GR Engineering evaluate strategic options to deliver a robust business case that balances the risk profile and development costs, as well as develop a project execution plan.
As part of the study, the technical aspects of the project, with a focus on optimising process design and achieving efficiencies in capital and operating costs, will be further analysed.
PNX’s prefeasibility study (PFS), released in July, revealed the potential of a low-cost, high-margin zinc and precious metals mine in the Northern Territory.
The PFS unpacked a project that would deliver yearly concentrates of 18 300 t of zinc, 14 700 oz of gold and 1.4-million ounces of silver, generating net smelter revenues of A$628-million over a six-and-a-half-year mine life.