Name of the Project
Theta opencut gold project.

Location
Mpumalanga, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Theta Gold Mines.

Project Description
A feasibility study has confirmed the economic and commercial viability of developing an opencut mine at the Theta project.

The project has probable reserves of 2.31-million tonnes grading 2.76 g/t gold. Total mineral resources are estimated at 44.79-million tonnes grading 4.18 g/t gold.

The project includes the Columbia Hill deposit and part of the Theta Hill deposit within Mining Right 83, which is fully authorised for underground mining, with a modification to include openpit mining in progress.

Modified terrace mining has been selected as the mining method and is suited to the mountainous profile of the topography.

The feasibility study envisages a new carbon-in-leach plant, based on about 500 000 t/y of ore, with throughput being restricted by the existing tailings storage facility capacity of 2.5-million tonnes.

The mine is expected to produce 200 905 oz of gold over the five-year life-of-mine.

Once the mine is in production, a new tailings storage facility will need to be planned and built.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a post-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $49.6-million and an internal rate of return of 65.1%, with a payback of 1.2 years from the start of production.

Capital Expenditure
The feasibility study has indicated a total capital requirement of $34.26-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The project will take about nine months to construct after the necessary approvals have been received.

Latest Developments
Theta Gold Mines has secured a second-hand 2.5 MW ball mill for its namesake project for R5.5-million. The mill was previously operational at diversified miner Glencore’s smelters in Rustenburg.

The mill can process up to 820 000 t/y and could readily accommodate future mining expansions. 

An equivalent new 2.5 MW ball mill with spare parts would cost nearly A$5.5-million and would take up to 40 weeks from order to delivery.

The second-hand mill can be relocated to the Theta gold mine processing plant by January 2020.

The acquisition of the mill also provides certainty of grinding capability for the mine and, being larger than initially planned in the feasibility study, allows for future throughput increases.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Theta Gold Mines, tel +61 2 8912 2126 or email info@thetagoldmines.com.