The Board of Santana Minerals Ltd (ASX:SMI, Santana, or the Company) is pleased to present its June 2024 Quarterly Report. During the quarter past, significant progression toward the commercialisation of the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project in New Zealand’s Central Otago region was made.
Key Highlights
Operations
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Substantial baseline social, environmental impact and economic output studies required for permitting were advanced and are ongoing.
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The upgrade of mine development studies from Scoping Study level to Pre-feasibility Study (PFS) continued as a key priority. Previous Scoping Study outcomes concluded a robust project development considering the upper portion of the Rise & Shine orebody (RAS) only with key physical and fiscal measures being:
- Gold production of 110,000oz per annum for an initial mine life of 10 years.
- An after tax NPV10 of NZ$937M, IRR of 75% and a Simple Payback of 1yr.
- A Net Profit after Tax (NPAT) of NZ$2.0B generated over the initial 10 years.
- Cash operating costs to produce gold of NZ$897/oz and total production costs of NZ$1,392/oz.
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Post quarter end, additional resource definition drilling enabled an increase in Indicated resources at RAS, expanding it to 1.45 million ounces (65% of the total resource). In addition, resource definition drilling of the near surface components of the Shreks, Shreks East, and Come-in-Time deposits was completed with an objective of having all of these included in the expanded PFS which is due for completion in the December 2024 quarter.
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Additional metallurgical testwork on RAS ores confirmed strong gravity plus CIL recoveries of between 91% and 95%. Metallurgical testwork on Shreks and Come-in-Time orebodies also commenced.
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The Company withdrew from its early stage Cuitaboca Silver Project in Mexico where it was funding exploration on an earn-in basis. The Company retains its interest in the Cambodian gold project with Emerald Resources NL, where it is a minority party and free carried.
For more information, download the attached PDF.
