Studies Support Pathway To Production In Western Australia
Black Cat Syndicate Ltd (ASX: BC8) has received confidence boosting support for its plans to build a large gold processing plant in the Western Australian goldfields.
The company controls 756 sq. km of ground east of Kalgoorlie that contains 884,000oz of JORC 2012 Mineral Resources.
Black Cat’s objective is to construct a 500,000tpa processing facility (which will be designed to be readily expandable) capable of treating multiple feed sources and targeting full production in the March 2022 quarter.
Initial Scoping Studies highlight a strong case for development as drilling continues to grow Resources.
This first round of Studies is only a starting point with 40% (357,000oz) of current Resources considered in the Studies leaving 527,000oz in Resources for future Studies.
Managing Director, Gareth Solly, said this is a significant step forward in achieving Black Cat’s strategy of:
• Identifying >1 million oz in Resources including >3 years of Ore Reserves; and
• Owning a 500,000tpa processing facility designed to be readily expandable
“The Studies demonstrate that Black Cat is well on its way to achieving its strategic objectives,” Mr Solly said.
“This first round of Studies is just a starting point with only 40% (357,000oz) of our current Resources considered and upgrades expected on the back of our current +60,000m drilling programme.
“The Studies are robust with ~70% of Production Targets sourced from Indicated Resources and skewed heavily towards the initial production years.
“Myhree provides strong early cashflow and Imperial/Majestic has excellent high- grade underground mining potential. The existing Resource at Imperial/Majestic was modelled mainly for open pit mining and current drilling is validating the higher-grade underground potential. Importantly, 2020 drilling at Imperial/Majestic is yet to be included in the Study and will be incorporated into an updated Resource along with revised underground designs.
“The Fingals Fortune Resource was increased by 53% after only the first drill program. Results from the second drill programme are already showing the potential for further extensions. Accordingly, there is strong potential for a substantially larger open pit at Fingals Fortune in the near term.
“A processing facility solution is advancing with design, procurement and timing on track as per our detailed announcement, also issued today.
“We have also expedited our +60,000m drilling programme given our recent success. Drilling has only just started at Imperial/Majestic and Fingals Fortune. In addition, there is still plenty of opportunity at Bulong and we have not even touched Rowe’s Find. “We will continue to optimise this first round of Studies as Resources and Ore Reserves are defined and grown over the coming months. Updates will be provided on an ongoing basis. So, this is a great start and plenty more to come.”
