KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed De Grey Mining was confident in its ability to fund the Mallina gold project, in Western Australia.

A 2022 prefeasibility study (PFS) estimated that the project could produce some 540 000 oz/y of gold over the first ten-years of its mine life, with some 6.4-million ounces produced over its 13.6-year mine-life.

The study estimated a capital cost of A$985-million for the ten-million tonne a year plant and site infrastructure, with an additional A$68-million required for the pre-strip operations.

The PFS estimated that Mallina would be in the lowest quartile of Australian producing gold mines, and one of the lowest capital-intensive gold projects in the world.

“Financially, our market capitalization and the quality of the asset will attract sufficient debt and equity funding to develop the project. So, we don't feel like we need it from a financial strength perspective, simply because of the scale that we are,” De Grey MD Glenn Jardine said on the sidelines of Diggers & Dealers.

De Grey is currently undertaking a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the project, which is due for release in the September quarter of this year.

Jardine said that the DFS would update the openpit design for Mallina and would include an updated flowsheet and a mining and processing schedule for the Hemi deposit, as well as material take-ffs for capital cost estimates and quotations for mine operating costs.

The PFS estimated a final investment decision by mid-2023, subject to statutory approvals. Jardine noted, however, that this timeline would also be updated with the DFS>

“I think we've gone really fast to get to where we are and that's partially to do with the orebody, but also because of the level of experience we've already had in the company.

“What's really important for us is to not rush into this thing. This is going to be a world class asset, and for us, it's really important for us to do it properly, and that's what we intended to do.”