Name and Location
Castle Hill gold project, Western Australia.

Client
Phoenix Gold.

Project Description
The proposed Castle Hill project’s plant design is based on a nominal 1.65-million-tonne-a-year throughput using a three-stage crushing circuit and a single-stage grinding circuit (ball mill), followed by gravity and carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuits.

A heap-leach facility, with a nominal 1.2-million-tonne-a-year capacity is also planned, which will treat the low-grade material mined from the broad halo of lower-grade mineralisation within the Castle Hill mine designs.

The crushing circuit has a nominal design throughput of four-million tonnes a year to cater for the CIL circuit and heap leaching.

Mining is expected to be conducted by two fleets of conventional truck-and-shovel mining equipment.

The mine schedule assumes a consistent movement of 600 000 m³/m over the five-year schedule, delivering an average of 2.8-million tonnes of ore and one-million tonnes of mineralised waste.

The project currently has a resource of 3.4-million tonnes at 2.1 g/t gold for 229 000 oz of gold.

Value
$A131-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Phoenix Gold has engaged key independent specialist technical consultants to assist with the $1.5-million definitive feasibility study (DFS) for its flagship Castle Hill and Red Dam gold projects, which Phoenix Gold also plans to develop. The DFS will be completed to a bankable level in December, enabling a final investment decision to be taken to start mine development and process plant construction in early 2014.

Project financing will take place simultaneously with the DFS, allowing mine development and processing plant construction to start as early as possible in 2014. Long-lead time components, including the ball mill and transformer, will be ordered in advance.

Mintrex has been engaged to complete processing plant design and the assessment of capital and operating cost estimates. Independent Metallurgical Operations will conduct metallurgical testwork.

Phoenix expected an independent resource update for Castle Hill and Red Dam in the June quarter of this year, which was expected to build on the existing resource of 3.4-million tonnes.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Cube Consulting (independent geological review and sign off on mineral resource estimates), Golder Associates (mining and geotechnical engineering services, complete ore reserve studies and sign off on ore reserve statements), Mintrex (processing plant design and assessment of capital and operating cost estimates), Independent Metallurgical Operations (conduct metallurgical testwork) and Cardno BEC, Rockwater and WorleyParsons (energy, hydrology and civil engineering respectively).

On Budget and on Time?
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Phoenix Gold, tel + 61 8 9021 2704, fax + 61 8 9021 3393 or email info@phoenixgold.com.au.
Cube Consulting, tel +61 8 9442 2111, fax +61 8 9442 2110 or email perth@cubeconsulting.com.
Golder Associates, tel +61 8 9213 7600 or fax +61 8 9213 7611.
Mintrex, tel +61 8 9442 3333, +61 8 9442 3399 or email mintrex@mintrex.com.au.
Independent Metallurgical Operations, tel +61 8 9254 6900 or fax +61 8 9382 3218.
Cardno BEC, tel +61 7 3369 9822 or fax +61 7 3369 9722.
Rockwater, tel + 61 8 9284 0222, fax +61 8 9284 1785 or email consult@rockwater.com.au.
WorleyParsons, tel +61 8 9278 8111 or fax +61 8 9278 8110.