ATAC Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:ATC) is pleased to announce the completion of a
positive Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the oxide portion of the
Tiger Deposit located at the western end of the Company's 100% owned Rackla Gold
Project, Yukon. The Tiger Deposit was discovered in 2007 and is distinct from
the more recent larger scale Carlin-type discoveries located 100 km to the east,
which remain the exploration focus of the Company.
The lead engineering firm for the PEA was Kappes Cassiday & Associates ("KCA")
(metallurgy, processing, infrastructure, financial analysis) in cooperation with
Tetra Tech, Inc. ("Tetra Tech") (mining), Giroux Consultants Ltd. (mineral
resource), Resource Strategies (environmental and permitting) and Gerald G.
Carlson, Ph.D., P.Eng. (history, geology, drilling). Unless specified otherwise,
all values are shown in Canadian dollars, where 1 CAD = 0.92 USD.
PEA HIGHLIGHTS (using US$1,250 per ounce gold price):
-- Conventional open-pit mining with single-stage, low intensity crushing
followed by size classification - no grinding or agglomeration needed;
-- Life of mine ("LOM") production of 2.06 million tonnes of oxide material
at an average diluted grade of 3.72 g/t gold;
-- Overall gold recoveries of 89.8% from hybrid heap-leach (87.8% recovery)
and agitated tank (91.0% recovery) carbon-in-leach ("CIL") process;
-- Four year, seasonal operation with LOM production of 221,558 ounces of
gold;
-- Pre-tax net present value ("NPV") of $52.1 million at a 5% discount rate
and internal rate of return ("IRR") of 30% with an all-in sustaining
cash cost of $626(i);
-- At a US$1,350 per ounce gold price the pre-tax NPV increases to $72.6
million at a 5% discount rate and IRR of 39.5%; and,
-- Pit slope engineering, Tiger Deposit infill drilling and exploration of
numerous untested nearby oxide targets have the potential to enhance the
value of the project economics.
(i)All-in sustaining costs are presented as defined by the World Gold
Council less corporate G&A.
"Although we remain focused on the Carlin-type gold targets 100 km to the east,
we are very pleased with the results of the comprehensive Tiger Deposit PEA. It
gives the Company a clear understanding of the potential viability and value of
our first Rackla Gold Project discovery, and highlights the advantages of a rare
high-grade, at surface, oxide gold deposit that is located in one of the most
favourable mining jurisdictions in the world," states Graham Downs, CEO of ATAC.
"The simplicity of the mining and processing combined with the approach of
modular design and construction for the on-site facilities has resulted in an
optimized development scenario for this size of deposit. Additional geotechnical
and resource drilling at the Tiger Deposit combined with exploration drilling at
over six untested satellite oxide targets has the potential to significantly
enhance the PEA and the district potential of the Rackla Gold Project."
Economic Results and Sensitivities
The following table demonstrates the sensitivity of the Tiger Deposit economics
to the price of gold. US$1,250 per ounce gold price was used as the base case
and is highlighted in the table.
Summary of gold price sensitivity
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Gold Price US$/oz $1,100 $1,250 $1,350 $1,500
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Pre-Tax Cumulative Net Cash Flow $M $36.7 $72.7 $96.6 $132.6
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Pre-Tax NPV (5% discount rate) $M $21.4 $52.1 $72.6 $103.3
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Pre-Tax IRR 15.5% 30.0% 39.5% 53.5%
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Pre-Tax Payback (years) 2.9 2.2 1.8 1.3
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After-Tax Cumulative Net Cash Flow $10.4 $51.0 $67.3 $91.5
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After-Tax NPV (5% discount rate) $M $12.6 $33.7 $47.5 $68.0
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After-Tax IRR 11.2% 21.5% 27.9% 37.2%
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After-Tax Payback (years) 3.2 2.6 2.3 1.9
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Mining and Processing
The Tiger Deposit has been modeled as an open-pit mining operation with a hybrid
heap leach and CIL gold recovery process. A summary of: (i) gold production and
processing metrics; (ii) pre-production costs; and (iii) operating costs are
presented in the following tables.
Projected Production and Processing Summary
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Total Process Feed 2.06 million tonnes
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Processing Rate
(158 days per year) 3,300 tonnes/day
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LOM Strip Ratio 5.6:1
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Combined
Heap Leach Average or
Proportional Processing Feed (42%) CIL (58%) Total
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Average Process Feed Grade 3.45 g/t Au 3.91 g/t Au 3.72 g/t Au
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Average Recovery 87.8% 91.0% 89.8%
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Average Annual Production LOM
(oz) 21,132 34,257 55,389
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Total Production (oz) 84,528 137,029 221,558
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Silver is a minor by-product of gold production with an assumed recovery of
19% and process feed grade of 5 g/t. Total recovered silver ounces over LOM
is 63,057 oz.
Pre-Production and Sustaining Capital Costs (Millions)
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Pre- Sustaining
Capital Costs Production capital LOM
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Site Infrastructure $1.7 $1.7
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Heap Leach/Tailings(i) $5.7 $20.4 $26.1
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Mining Equipment $10.1 $1.7 $11.8
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Pre-Stripping & Stockpiling $10.5 $10.5
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Process Plant $40.3 $40.3
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Contingency (20%) $11.6 $4.4 $16.0
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Indirect costs $12.3 $12.3
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Total(ii) $92.3 $26.5 $118.8
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(i) Pre-production and annual heap leach cell and tailings development
(ii) Totals may not add exactly due to rounding
Operating Costs
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Operating Costs LOM Average
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Mining Costs(i) ($/tonne mined) $4.46
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Processing ($/tonne processed) $20.10
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G & A ($/tonne processed) $7.11
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(i) Not including capitalized pre-production mining costs
Project Description
The Tiger Deposit is located approximately 55 km northeast of Keno City, Yukon.
Access to the Tiger Deposit would be by a proposed 51.6 km winter road that
utilizes 24.6 km of the existing and permitted Wind River Winter Trail. The
deposit is currently accessed by air via a 2,500 foot airstrip located 8 km from
the deposit.
An owner-operated open-pit mine, with one year of pre-stripping followed by four
years of production is envisioned in the PEA. Average annual production would be
approximately 55,389 oz gold with year one production projected to be 78,500 oz
gold. A total of 2.06 million tonnes of oxide material at an average diluted
grade of 3.72 g/t would be extracted by hydraulic excavator. Based on a
geotechnical study, no blasting of mineralized material would be necessary due
to its highly weathered and sandy nature. Mining and stockpiling would take
place year-round, while processing of mineralized material would occur during
May through September (158 days annually) at a rate of 3,300 tonnes per day.
Processing has been designed to begin near the open-pit where material would be
fed into a single skid-mounted low-intensity mineral sizer. Material would then
be transported downhill by overland conveyor to a modular processing facility to
be scrubbed and sized into two size fractions. The study proposes a hybrid
approach where approximately 42% of the material (+0.212 mm) would be sent to
the heap leach facility. The remaining 58% (finer material) would be sent to the
CIL plant. A 50 day heap leach cycle has an estimated gold recovery of 87.8%
while the retention time for the CIL plant is 24 hours with an estimated gold
recovery of 91.0%.
All major project components for the Tiger Deposit would be engineered and
constructed to achieve efficient closure. Heap leach cells would be built
annually and progressively reclaimed, while the tailings facilities would be
expanded annually and fully reclaimed at closure.
Opportunities to Enhance the Project
ATAC is very pleased with the base case results from the detailed PEA and
believes that opportunities exist that could greatly enhance the economics of
the project. Some key opportunities include:
-- Future geotechnical studies may permit steeper pit slopes, which could
potentially capture a greater percentage of the presently known resource
and/or reduce the strip ratio;
-- Trade-off studies between owner-operator and contract mining or mining
fleet leasing could decrease pre-production capital;
-- Resource expansion and upgrading inferred resources to the indicated
category may be achieved with a modest drill program; and,
-- Significant potential exists to increase the resource base and life
expectancy of the project with the exploration of more than six untested
satellite oxide gold targets and geochemical anomalies.
Environment and Community Engagement
Since 2007, the Company has completed comprehensive environmental, water,
heritage, geotechnical and metallurgical studies which have resulted in a highly
advanced project at the PEA stage. Due to the nature of the geology of the
deposit and environmental studies completed to date, permitting would likely be
without significant problems.
Community and First Nation engagement began in 2008 with the first Exploration
Cooperation Agreement with the First Nation of Na Cho Nyak Dun ("NND") signed in
2010. This Exploration Cooperation Agreement with the NND was recently renewed
and provides a framework within which exploration activities and environmental
regulatory processes on ATAC's Rackla Gold Project have been and will continue
to be carried out. The Rackla Gold Project lies exclusively within the
Traditional Territory of the NND.
Going forward
The Company will continue with environmental baseline work and ongoing studies
while it explores opportunities to advance or monetize the Tiger Deposit through
sole development, joint venture or outright sale.
Project Mineral Resources
Gold occurs in both sulphide and oxide mineralization within the Tiger Deposit.
The PEA considers the oxide portion of the deposit. The following two tables
show the oxide only resource used for the PEA and the oxide plus sulphide
resources for reference only.
Tiger Deposit Oxide Only Resource
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Cut-off grade Grade Ounces
Category (g/t) (Au) Tonnes (g/t) (Au) (Au)
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Indicated 1.60 2,470,000 4.25 337,500
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Inferred 1.60 180,000 3.00 17,400
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Tiger Deposit Oxide Plus Sulphide Resource
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Cut-off grade Grade Ounces
Category (g/t) (Au) Tonnes (g/t) (Au) (Au)
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Indicated 1.60 3,260,000 3.85 403,500
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Inferred 1.60 1,570,000 2.44 123,200
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The PEA is based on a 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate completed by
Gary Giroux, P.Eng., M.A.Sc. (Giroux Consultants Ltd.) who is a qualified person
and independent of ATAC, based on the criteria defined by National Instrument
43-101. Quality control data generated during the various drill programs
conducted at the Tiger Deposit were independently reviewed by Giroux Consultants
Ltd. as part of the resource study. The full report dated effective November 15,
2011 and titled "Preparation of the Tiger Zone Mineral Resource Estimate" was
filed on SEDAR (http://www.sedar.com/) December 1, 2011.
It should be noted that this PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred
mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the
economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized
as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the PEA forecast will be
realized or that any of the resources will ever be upgraded to reserves. Mineral
Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic
viability. A NI 43-101 technical report for the Tiger Deposit PEA will be filed
on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and ATAC's website (www.atacresources.com) within 45
days.
Qualified Persons
The independent qualified persons responsible for preparing the Tiger Deposit
Preliminary Economic Assessment are Dan Kappes, P.Eng., of KCA, Sabry Abdel
Hafez, Ph.D., P.Eng., of Tetra Tech, Gary Giroux, M.A.Sc., P.Eng., of Giroux
Consultants Ltd., Rob McIntyre, R.E.T. of Resource Strategies and Gerald G.
Carlson, Ph.D., P.Eng., an independent consultant. All of the aforementioned
qualified persons have reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
Robert C. Carne, M.Sc., P.Geo., the President and a Director of ATAC Resources
Ltd., is the company's designated QP for this news release within the meaning of
NI 43-101 and has reviewed and validated that the information contained in the
release is consistent with that provided by the QPs responsible for the PEA.
About ATAC
ATAC Resources Ltd. is a Yukon-based exploration company focused on developing
Canada's only Carlin-type gold district at its 100% owned Rackla Gold Project.
Recent work on the 1,700 sq/km project has resulted in a positive Preliminary
Economic Assessment for the Tiger Deposit, drilling of multiple high-grade
Carlin-type gold zones and the identification of numerous early-stage gold
exploration targets. The Rackla Gold Project has no underlying royalties or
third-party interests. ATAC is well financed with approximately $23 million in
its treasury.
On behalf of Management and the Board of Directors of ATAC Resources Ltd.,
Graham Downs, CEO
ATAC Resources Ltd.
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT
TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
This news release contains forward-looking information. Forward-looking
information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to,
statements with respect to: (i) the estimation of inferred and indicated mineral
resources; (ii) the success of exploration activities; (iii) the results of the
PEA including statements about future production, future operating and capital
costs, the projected IRR, NPV, payback period, and production timelines for the
Tiger Deposit.
These statements are based on information currently available to the Company and
the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's
expectations. In certain cases, forward-looking information may be identified by
such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may",
"shall", "will", or "would". Forward-looking information contained in this news
release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other
things, the estimation of mineral resources, the realization of resource
estimate, gold metal prices, the timing and amount of future exploration and
development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital
requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs, the availability of
necessary financing and materials to continue to explore and develop the Tiger
Deposit in the short and long-term, the progress of exploration and development
activities, the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, the completion of the
environmental assessment process, and assumptions with respect to currency
fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar
matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on
information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.
Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of
the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such
factors include risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral
deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans
continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may
not commence at the Tiger Deposit, risks relating to variations in mineral
resources, grade or recovery rates resulting from current exploration and
development activities, risks relating to changes in gold prices and the
worldwide demand for and supply of gold, risks related to increased competition
in the mining industry generally, risks related to current global financial
conditions, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources,
access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent
in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour
disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or
increased costs that might be encountered during the development process,
regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary
licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, including
the risk that the financing necessary to fund the exploration and development
activities at the Tiger Deposit may not be available on satisfactory terms, or
at all, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interest, and
environmental risks. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect
any of the Company's forward-looking information. These and other factors should
be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the
Company's forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update
any forward-looking information that may be made from time to time by the
Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Vanessa Pickering, Manager, Corporate Communications
ATAC Resources Ltd.
T: 604-687-2522 ext. 260
vpickering@atacresources.com
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