Gold prospecting and mining company Central Rand Gold (CRG) has completed a positive scoping study at its Crown West project, which is located about 5 km east of the CMR West mine and represents a fully standalone operation.

The project, which will be mined in a manner similar to CRG’s other existing mining operations. This scoping study was undertaken as an initial low-confidence assessment of mineral potential in the area, geared at determining whether further work towards improving resource confidence was warranted.

The positive economic output, while only at scoping level, illustrates that further work towards the generation of mineral reserves and an associated feasibility study is recommended.

The Crown West project is included within the existing new-order mining right of the CMR West operation and is fully permitted for ore extraction.

The scoping study, undertaken by mining engineering consultant Mohloki Mining, confirms a ten-year life-of-mine (LoM) oper-ation, with tonnage production building up over four years to a steady state of about 40 000 t/m, generating a steady-state average of 53 000 oz/y of gold.

As this is a scoping study, the LoM is based on the bulk of the mineral resources in accord- ance with the South African Mineral Resources Com-mittee-compliant inferred resources. The study does not impart reserve status on the grades and tonnage portrayed and does not claim to be a definitive economic study.

The operating costs are drawn from current operations at CMR West, specifically mining and processing costs, and they have been optimised to reflect the benefits of economies of scale of a larger operation.

Mining and processing cash costs, excluding capital, royalties, overheads and other head office costs, are estimated at $782/oz and $86 per processed ton, which compare favourably with similar-sized peers.

General overheads, water-table pumping and head office costs will be shared with the existing CMR West mine and the planned CMR East mines, thereby leveraging off the existing fixed-cost base of its operations.

Further work at the Crown West project will comprise a diamond-drilling programme, aimed at upgrading the existing inferred resources to at least indicated resources, coupled with a comprehensive prefeasibility study to convert resources to reserves.