PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A scoping study into the Mt Bundy gold project, in the Northern Territory, has estimated that the project will require a capital investment of A$155-million to support an initial mine life of nine years, ASX-listed Primary Gold reported on Wednesday.

Based on the mining of some 26.9-million tonnes of ore, at 1.5 g/t gold, the three-million-tonne-a-year operation is expected to deliver some 824 000 oz of gold over the mine life.

Production will peak between year two and four, during which time about 386 000 oz of gold will be recovered.

The Mt Bundy project includes three previously mined deposits, including a large openpit operation at Rustlers Roost, a smaller operation at Quest 29 and a high-grade underground mine at Toms Gully.

MD Garry Mills said Primary Gold would start a programme to explore the potential to significantly grow the existing Toms Gully resource to allow the company to extend its high-grade feed to the mill beyond year four.

“At Rustlers Roost, we are keen to commence drill programmes this quarter which will allow us to test extensions to mineralisation beyond the current 150-m-deep pit, which bottoms out on lack of prior drilling.

“Similarly, drill programmes planned for Quest 29 will explore the potential for amalgamating and deepening the current four pits in close proximity to each other,” Mills said.

The Toms Gully underground mine is currently expected to deliver some 204 000 oz of gold over the project’s mine life, while the Rustlers Roost and Quest 29 openpit operations will deliver a combined 620 000 oz.

All-in sustaining costs (ASIC) for the life of the mine have been estimated at around A$1 050/oz.

Meanwhile, Mills noted that Primary Gold would immediately move to a prefeasibility study (PFS) for the Mt Bundy project, which would include metallurgical testwork to potentially increase recoveries and further lower the ASIC.

The PFS will take about six months to complete.