Name of the Project
Borborema gold project.

Location
The Seridó area of the Borborema province, in north-eastern Brazil.

Project Owner/s
Dundee Goodman Merchant Partners has increased its stake in Big River Gold to become a cornerstone investor in the company.

Dundee in December took a 9.1% shareholding in Big River Gold after taking up A$8-million worth of shares in Big River as part of the company’s larger A$20.4-million capital raise.

Big River announced on February 5, 2021, that Dundee had increased its shareholding in the company to 19.4% through an off-market purchase of 180-million shares from major shareholder Copulus Group, at 5.5c each.

Copulus Group retains an 18.7% shareholding in Big River following the transaction.

Big River has welcomed the further investment by Dundee, saying it reinforces the company’s long-held belief in the quality of its Borborema gold project.

Project Description
A review of the 2019 definitive feasibility study (DFS) has recommended plant and equipment changes to the comminution and elution circuits. The plant changes will provide additional operational security and benefits.

The revised 2020 DFS recommends that the planned semiautogenous grinding mill be replaced by a three-stage crushing and ball mill, and that the Anglo American Research Laboratories elution circuit be replaced by a pres­sure Zadra plant. The plant was selected to conserve water and is con­sidered better suited when operating with treated sewage water from Currais Novos.

Stage 1 of the project is expected to produce 729 400 oz of gold over 10.2 years, which comprises only a portion of the Borborema resources and reserves of 2.43-million ounces and 1.61-million ounces respectively.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The Stage 1 pretax net present value has increased from $218-million tonnes, at an 8% discount rate in the 2019 DFS, to $342-million at an 8% discount rate in the revised 2020 DFS.

The internal rate of return has increased from 43.6% to 64.7%.

Payback has decreased from 2.4 years in the 2019 DFS to 1.5 years in the revised 2020 DFS.

Capital Expenditure
Startup capital costs of the two-million-tonnes-a-year project have been reduced from $99.33-million to $90.7-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Big River has previously stated that construction of the project is expected to take 23 months, subject to the conclusion of financing.

Latest Developments
Big River Gold is accelerating key civil works at its Borborema gold project and is investigating plant design options to better facilitate future expansions while allowing for the restart of exploration.

The mine plan, as outlined in the July 2020 DFS, is to start with a processing plant designed with a throughput of two-million tonnes a year, and expects a future expansion to a throughput of up to four-million tonnes a year. Any future expansion will be subject to ongoing economic and technical studies, and the availability of sufficient process water.

However, BGP currently holds permits for a four-million-tonne-a-year operation and it is the board’s view that an expansion up to that level will be a better match for a project that comprises 42.4-million tonnes of reserves containing 1.61-million ounces of gold. That reserve figure excludes any of the 17-million tonnes contained in the inferred resource category.

The option review being undertaken is aimed at ensuring that the current DFS plant design is best suited to any expected expansion without incurring excessive capital costs or disruptions to production that could be prevented by improved planning and provisions.

The initial option review is expected to take only a few weeks; however, Big River has noted that additional time may be required to bring any revisions up to the necessary level of accuracy during the first quarter of 2021.

Construction of the water dyke and catchment will be fast-tracked to take advantage of any rainfall that could occur before the mine is commissioned, with Big River also actively looking to secure additional process water supplies from several sources.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Big River Gold (Brazil), tel +55 31 2534 3620 or email admin@bigrivergold.com.au.