TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX- and NYSE-listed International Tower Hill Mines (ITH) on Tuesday said a feasibility study (FS) on its Livengood project, near Fairbanks, Alaska, has determined that the project is not economically robust in the current gold market.

The FS evaluated a 100 000 t/d project that would produce eight-million ounces of gold over 14 years. Using the trailing three-year gold price of $1 500/oz, the project was found to generate a “minimal positive return”.

“While the large project FS results are not economically robust in today’s gold market, the Livengood project remains a very significant gold deposit in one of the most favourable jurisdictions in the world. The company is highly focused on advancing lower-cost opportunities identified in the FS,” ITH CEO Don Ewigleben said.

ITH plans to continue advancing the project within the limitations of its working capital on hand, while safeguarding the asset for development in the future.

As at June 30, the company had about $19.9-million cash in the bank.

It said discussions would continue with several potential strategic partners with longer-term development horizons for advancing the project.

The company said it had also implemented numerous cost-saving initiatives that would allow it to continue with the opportunities review and maintain the project well into 2015.

The FS suggested alternative development options for the 577 600 oz/y project, including investigating whether mill throughput and production schedule optimisation studies could provide opportunities to reduce project capital costs.

A lower mill throughput could also lead to enhanced mill head grades in the early years through a more aggressive stockpile management strategy than was assumed in the FS.

The Livengood project is connected by an existing paved highway and is located in an active mining district that has been mined for gold since 1914. The State of Alaska land use plan had designated mining as the primary surface use for the Livengood area.