Name of the Project
Woodlark gold project.

Location
Papua New Guinea.

Project Owner/s
Geopacific Resources.

Project Description
Geopacific has released an update for the Woodlark project, confirming improved economics for the shovel-ready project.

The update confirms that the project’s three mining areas – Kulumadau, Busai and Woodlark King – can be developed in a practical sequence to mine
1.1-million ounces of gold and provide sufficient feed for the processing plant for 13 years.

The process plant comprises a conventional carbon-in-leach circuit with a 2.4-million-tonne-a-year processing capacity. The execution update production schedule envisages 31-million tonnes of ore processed over the life-of-mine.

The major infrastructure requirements for the project include a process plant, a deep-sea tailings placement system, communications, an accommodation camp, roads, an airstrip, a mine services area, a mine openpit, a water supply dam and mine waste dumps.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project’s net present value has increased from A$197-million, at an 8% discount rate in the 2018 definitive feasibility study (DFS), to A$347-million in the 2020 execution update.

The project’s internal rate of return has increased from 29% in the 2018 DFS to 34% in the 2020 execution update.

Project payback has decreased from 2.2 years in the 2018 DFS to 1.8 years in the 2020 execution update.

Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at A$254.8-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The project duration is estimated to be 18 months from the financial investment decision date, excluding the early works programme that started in January 2020.

Latest Developments
Embattled Geopacific Resources has resumed share trading on the ASX after completing a range of corporate initiatives aimed at cutting costs.

The company earlier this year warned of material increases to the capital cost of the Woodlark project, and subsequently suspended the development of the project.

Geopacific also undertook a round of redundancies across the organisation.

The company has reported that it has now closed out material commercial commitments following the suspension of project development, and has initiated a strategic review to assess alternative options to maximise shareholder value, including potential corporate and asset-level transactions.

Meanwhile, Geopacific is advancing several concurrent work programmes to progress the project and optimise its future development pathways, including a drill campaign to expand the existing resource and reserve, and an assessment of the implications of the potential mineral resource growth on the design economics of a future project development.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Lycopodium (DFS); GRES (engineering, procurement and construction and front-end engineering design) and Mining Plus (update of the mining operational and capital cost model).

Contact Details for Project Information
Geopacific, tel +61 8 61431820 or email info@geopacific.com.au.