Name of the Project
Yandal gold project.

Location
The project is located in the Yandal greenstone gold belt, Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Echo Resources.

Project Description
A bankable feasibility study (BFS) has confirmed the redevelopment of the Yandal gold project as technically robust, with strong financial metrics.

Envisaged is the refurbishment of Echo’s 100%-owned Bronzewing processing plant and substantial associated infrastructure.

The BFS is based on processing 6.9-million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.86 g/t gold for about 379 000 oz.

Ore will be sourced from the high-margin Stage 1 openpits at Orelia and Julius for a four-year mine life.

The Orelia pit will be mined in two stages – 1A and 1B. The Stage 1A pit will deepen the floor of the existing pit to target higher-grade, lower strip ratio ore. The Stage 1B pit will include a cutback to the west and north walls, as well as deepening below the Stage 1A floor.

The Julius pit will be mined in a single stage.

The additional four years of mine life from Stage 2 ore reserves, comprising 408 000 oz, have not been included in the BFS. These reserves will be optimised and augmented over time and may result in the mine’s life being extended.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $172-million and an internal rate of return of 198%, with a payback of 0.4 years.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital is estimated at $42-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
All major permits required to start development and mining have been received.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Mintrex (process plant refurbishment study and metallurgical and engineering overview); CSA Global (database management and compilation); Nagrom (Julius metallurgical testwork); ALS (Julius and Orelia metallurgical testwork); Bureau Veritas Minerals (Orelia ore gold testwork); OMC (comminution and throughput modelling); Coffey (Bronzewing tailings storage facility audit and management review); Botanica Consulting (environmental surveys, permitting, mining proposal, mine closure plan and waste rock classification); Peter O’Bryan & Associates (Orelia geotechnical assessment); Tim Green and Associates (Julius geotechnical assessment); Widenbar & Associates (Julius and Orelia resource estimation); SCME (mine planning and optimisation, ore reserve statement) and PCF Capital (financial modelling).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Echo Resources, tel +61 8 9389 8726 or email info@echoresources.com.au.