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(Kitco News) - Gold producer Centamin (TSX: CEE) (LSE: CEY) announced on Tuesday the results of the pre-feasibility study (PFS) at its Doropo gold project located in north-eastern Côte d'Ivoire.
In a statement, the company said that the PFS delivered “robust economics” with a post-tax NPV of US$330 million and IRR of 26%, using 5% discount rate and US$1,600/oz gold price.
The project’s average annual gold production is 173koz over the life of mine, with an average of 210koz in the first five years, based on a maiden mineral reserve estimate of 1.87 million ounces of probable mineral reserves, at an average grade of 1.44 g/t Au, supporting a 10-year life of mine.
The mine plan assumes conventional open pit mining of a sequence of shallow pits.
All-in sustaining cost (AISC) is US$1,017 per ounce sold over the life of mine, with an average AISC of US$963/oz for the first five years.
Importantly, the company said that upside opportunities were identified for potential resource and reserve growth and improvements to capital and operating expenditure estimates.
Centamin also reported that the project’s definitive feasibility study (DFS) and environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) completion expected in H1 2024 ahead of mining license submission deadline.
CEO Martin Horgan commented, "The results from the Doropo PFS demonstrate an economically robust project that meets Centamin's hurdle rates to proceed with a definitive feasibility study.
“A substantial part of the DFS fieldwork has already been completed in 2023 which derisks the timeline to completion and further confirms our faith in the potential of Doropo to support a commercially viable project which will bring significant investment and job creation to northeastern Côte d'Ivoire."
Centamin is an established gold producer. The company's flagship asset is the Sukari gold mine, Egypt's largest and first modern gold mine, as well as one of the world's largest producing mines.
Through its large portfolio of exploration assets in Egypt and Côte d'Ivoire, Centamin is advancing an active pipeline of future growth prospects, including the Doropo project in Côte d'Ivoire, and has over 3,000km2 of highly prospective exploration ground in Egypt's Nubian Shield.
