Gold Bull Resources Corp. (TSX-V: GBRC) (“
Gold
Bull” or the “
Company”) is pleased to
report minor modifications to its Sandman Preliminary Economic
Assessment (PEA or Scoping) which was previously announced on April
25th, 2023, and filed on June 9, 2023, titled Phase 2 Study at its
100% owned Sandman Project (“
Sandman” or the
“
Project”) located in Humboldt County, Nevada,
USA.
The modifications provided include the addition
of post-tax financial analysis (previously only pre-tax was
reported) and the addition of an independent metallurgical
qualified person review, which resulted in the previously assumed
recoveries increasing from 70% to 75% with multi-phase
crushing.
The Sandman Scoping Phase 2
Study has identified a stand-alone, low pre-production capital
USD31.5M, conventional heap leach gold project producing circa
35,000 to 40,000 ounces (average 38,000) of gold per year for 9
years. The project boasts an excellent pre-tax Internal Rate of
Return (IRR) at 102% and a pre-tax payback period of 1.1 years,
using a gold price of US$1800. The results from the Phase 2 study
have Identified a post-tax IRR of 81% with payback period of 1.3
years.
The Scoping Phase 2 Study
focused on mining gold mineralized material within optimized pit
shells in two phases: Phase 1 mines all
mineralized material within the pit shell above the water table and
is dry (refer Phase 1 Study1), followed by Phase 2
which is focused on mineralized material below the water table and
within the pit shell, and is wet, after completion of additional
monitoring, permitting and dewatering efforts paid for by mine
cashflow from Phase 1.
The Phase 1 and Phase
2 approach is designed to preserve initial pre-production
capital during the Phase 1 mining process. The
benefit of this two-phase approach is to enable further definition
of the existing Mineral Resources, discover additional Mineral
Resources, and enable sufficient time to conduct the below water
table mine studies and permitting, all paid from the Phase
1 revenues. The proposed model has the potential to
deliver strong organic growth with minimal initial dilution to
existing shareholders.
|
Pre-Tax Results |
Post-Tax Results
(2) |
IRR |
102% |
81% |
Cash Flow (Undiscounted) |
$229,585,644 |
$174,743,379 |
Cash Flow 6% Discount Rate |
$161,092,882 |
$121,009,339 |
Payback (Years) |
1.1 |
1.3 |
|
The Study highlights :
- Production rate average of
2.2 Mtpa for a 9-year
operation
- 35,000-40,000
ounces of gold per annum produced from conventional
heap leach, average 38,000 ounces per year
- At US$1,800/oz gold
price:
- IRR of 81%
(post-tax)
- NPV
6% US$121M (post-tax)
- Payback period of 1.3
years (post-tax)
- Average grade 0.73g/t
gold
- LOM low strip ratio of
2.2:1
- Phase 1 Initial
pre-production Capital $31.5M and Phase 2 Capital,
US$19.7M paid by Phase 1 mining revenues. Total LOM capital
US$51.3M, including pre-production working capital US$4.5M
- LOM Operating cost of
US$20.85 per tonne (post tax)
- All in Sustaining
Cost (AISC) of $1,337 (post-tax) per
ounce
This Scoping Phase 2 Study focused on the
efficient extraction of all mineralized material within an
optimized pit shell in a sequence that facilitates effective use of
initial pre-production capital and a more rapid mine commissioning.
This Scoping Phase 2 Study is a Preliminary Economic Assessment PEA
(PEA), under NI 43-101 requirements.
Gold Bull CEO, Cherie Leeden, commented:
Sandman
provides Gold Bull with a low-cost and moderate mine life start-up
with the opportunity to grow the asset via additional exploration
using mine revenues. This is a practical approach to epithermal
gold mining and has historically produced longer life
assets.
In our Phase
1 PEA we only examined the oxide material located above the water
table (5yrs), to enable a rapid timeline for mine commissioning and
limited the initial pre-production capital. This Phase 2 scoping
study focussed on extending the mine life from 5 years to 9 years
while utilizing mine cashflow for Phase 2 development. The intent
is to be mining, developing, and discovering additional ounces at
the project utilizing mining cashflow and avoid shareholder
dilution. Excellent exploration potential exists at Sandman and not
all deposits are closed off.
Three gold
resources at Sandman remain open, therefore this PEA is the most
conservative base case done using only our pit constrained ounces
at a gold price of US$1800. If we were to use today's gold price of
circa <$2000, it dramatically increases the projected economics
because Sandman is most sensitive to the gold price.
Economic analysis is provided in Table
1 and compares Pre-Tax and Post-Tax analysis.
Metric |
Pre-Tax |
Post-Tax |
Economic Analysis |
|
|
|
|
Internal Rate of Return (IRR) |
102% |
|
|
81% |
|
|
NPV @ 6% |
$161,092,882 |
|
USD |
$121,009,339 |
|
USD |
Average Annual Cashflow |
$29,017,072 |
|
USD |
$22,923,487 |
|
USD |
Undiscounted Cumulative Cashflow |
$229,585,644 |
|
USD |
$174,743,379 |
|
USD |
Pay-Back Period |
1.1 |
|
years |
1.3 |
|
years |
Gold Price Assumption |
$1,800 |
|
per ounce |
$1,800 |
|
per ounce |
All-in Sustaining Cost |
$1,176 |
|
per ounce |
$1,337 |
|
per ounce |
Capital Costs |
|
|
|
|
Initial Capital |
$31,568,000 |
|
USD |
$31,568,000 |
|
USD |
Working Capital (included in above) |
$4,500,000 |
|
USD |
$4,500,000 |
|
USD |
LOM Sustaining Capital |
$19,739,240 |
|
USD |
$19,739,240 |
|
USD |
Total LOM Capital |
$51,307,240 |
|
USD |
$51,307,240 |
|
USD |
Contingency (Included in Total) |
$9,980,000 |
|
USD |
$9,980,000 |
|
USD |
Operating Costs (Average LOM) |
|
|
|
|
Mining |
$7.80 |
|
per ore tonne |
$7.80 |
|
per ore tonne |
Processing & Support |
$5.65 |
|
per ore tonne |
$5.65 |
|
per ore tonne |
General & Administration (G&A) |
$2.99 |
|
per ore tonne |
$2.99 |
|
per ore tonne |
Other Costs |
$1.57 |
|
per ore tonne |
$4.40 |
|
per ore tonne |
Total Operating Cost |
$18.03 |
|
per ore tonne |
$20.85 |
|
per ore tonne |
Production Data |
|
|
|
|
Life of Mine |
9 |
|
years |
9 |
|
years |
Annual Processing Rate |
2,157,667 |
|
tonnes per annum |
2,157,667 |
|
tonnes per annum |
Total Tonnes Processed |
19,419,000 |
|
tonnes |
19,419,000 |
|
tonnes |
Grade Au (Average) |
0.73 |
|
g/t Au |
0.73 |
|
g/t Au |
Contained Gold |
455,000 |
|
ounces |
455,000 |
|
ounces |
Metallurgical Recovery Au (Overall) |
75% |
|
|
75% |
|
|
Average Annual Gold Production |
37,917 |
|
ounces per annum |
37,917 |
|
ounces per annum |
Total Gold Produced |
341,250 |
|
ounces |
341,250 |
|
ounces |
LOM Strip Ratio |
2.2 |
|
: 1 |
2.2 |
|
: 1 |
Table
1. Scoping Study economic analysis summary
of Sandman Project for both Pre-Tax and Post-Tax
results.
STUDY HIGHLIGHTS
The Study has demonstrated potential for
positive financial metrics for the Sandman Project based on a
proposed stand-alone low-cost start-up heap leach gold mine project
located approximately 25 km from the mining town of Winnemucca
(Figure 1 and 2) in central Northern Nevada, USA.
This PEA Phase 2 Study investigated an expansion
to the previously announced Phase 1 five-year mine plan of above
water table mineralized material processed onsite via conventional
Heap Leach processing AND includes the Phase 2 plan to mine the
mineralized material below the water table after Phase 1 is
finalized and after the necessary permitting and dewatering efforts
have been completed. Gold Bull considers Sandman to be technically
low risk, given the low strip ratio due to gold at surface and the
majority of Mineral Resource classified as Indicated. Both Scoping
Studies were completed to an overall +/- 30% accuracy using the key
parameters and assumptions set out in Tables 1 and 2.
The calculations in this Phase 2 Study focus on
the full project (prior Phase 1 plus this Phase 2) mining scenario.
The Phase 1 mine scenario targeted low initial pre-production
capital and near-term cash flow to then later fund Phase 2 below
water table oxide mine dewatering studies and development. The
strategy is to preserve initial pre-production cashflow and pay for
future studies when producing revenue from the asset. The deferred
work includes below water table permitting & dewatering,
additional metallurgical optimization studies for product
processing and infill resource to reserve drilling.
The Sandman Project Phase 2 Scoping Study
includes Life of Mine (LOM) plan and reports a post-tax IRR
of 81%, post-tax
NPV6% of
US$121M (post-tax), annual post-tax cashflow of estimated
US$23Mpa, and a payback period of 1.3
years when applying presumed tax and a gold price
of US$1,800/oz of gold. The initial pre-production capital
cost is US$31.5M, which includes working capital
of US$4.5M, and a further
US$19.7M will be required as sustaining capital
for additional mine studies, dewatering, and leach pad expansions.
Total operating cost is $20.85 per tonne post tax
(and all in sustaining cost of $1,337/oz gold
(post-tax)). Royalty is low at 1.2% of
product.
The Project is based on 455,000 gold
ounces contained within the pit shells, with a
head grade of 0.73 g/t gold spread across four
known gold deposits. The four gold resources (see Figure 3: North
Hill, Silica Ridge, South East Pediment, Abel Knoll) shall be mined
via conventional open pit mining methods, with an average life of
mine waste to ore ratio of 2.2:1, annual
production is 35-40K oz gold (38,000 average),
with 2.2Mt feed production rate. Refer Table 1 and
Table 2 for further details and estimated financial metrics.
Metric |
Pre-Tax |
Post-Tax |
Economic Analysis |
|
|
|
|
Internal Rate of Return (IRR) |
102% |
|
|
81% |
|
|
NPV @ 6% |
$161,092,882 |
|
USD |
$121,009,339 |
|
USD |
Average Annual Cashflow |
$29,017,072 |
|
USD |
$22,923,487 |
|
USD |
Undiscounted Cumulative Cashflow |
$229,585,644 |
|
USD |
$174,743,379 |
|
USD |
Pay-Back Period |
1.1 |
|
years |
1.3 |
|
years |
Gold Price Assumption |
$1,800 |
|
per ounce |
$1,800 |
|
per ounce |
All-in Sustaining Cost |
$1,176 |
|
per ounce |
$1,337 |
|
per ounce |
Capital Costs |
|
|
|
|
Initial Capital |
$31,568,000 |
|
USD |
$31,568,000 |
|
USD |
Working Capital (included in above) |
$4,500,000 |
|
USD |
$4,500,000 |
|
USD |
LOM Sustaining Capital |
$19,739,240 |
|
USD |
$19,739,240 |
|
USD |
Total LOM Capital |
$51,307,240 |
|
USD |
$51,307,240 |
|
USD |
Contingency (Included in Total) |
$9,980,000 |
|
USD |
$9,980,000 |
|
USD |
Operating Costs (Average LOM) |
|
|
|
|
Mining |
$7.80 |
|
per ore tonne |
$7.80 |
|
per ore tonne |
Processing & Support |
$5.65 |
|
per ore tonne |
$5.65 |
|
per ore tonne |
General & Administration (G&A) |
$2.99 |
|
per ore tonne |
$2.99 |
|
per ore tonne |
Other Costs |
$1.57 |
|
per ore tonne |
$4.40 |
|
per ore tonne |
Total Operating Cost |
$18.03 |
|
per ore tonne |
$20.85 |
|
per ore tonne |
Production Data |
|
|
|
|
Life of Mine |
9 |
|
years |
9 |
|
years |
Annual Processing Rate |
2,157,667 |
|
tonnes per annum |
2,157,667 |
|
tonnes per annum |
Total Tonnes Processed |
19,419,000 |
|
tonnes |
19,419,000 |
|
tonnes |
Grade Au (Average) |
0.73 |
|
g/t Au |
0.73 |
|
g/t Au |
Contained Gold |
455,000 |
|
ounces |
455,000 |
|
ounces |
Metallurgical Recovery Au (Overall) |
75% |
|
|
75% |
|
|
Average Annual Gold Production |
37,917 |
|
ounces per annum |
37,917 |
|
ounces per annum |
Total Gold Produced |
341,250 |
|
ounces |
341,250 |
|
ounces |
LOM Strip Ratio |
2.2 |
|
: 1 |
2.2 |
|
: 1 |
Table 2. Scoping Study economic analysis summary of Sandman
Project with Pre-Tax and Post-Tax figures reported
Figure 1. Sandman Project location map of Northern Nevada
relative to the surrounding operating gold mines and mineral
resources. Reference to the nearby projects is for information
purposes only and there are no assurances the Company will achieve
the same results.
Figure 2. Sandman Project location relative to infrastructure
and nearby regional mine servicing town of Winnemucca, Nevada. The
project is located on Jungo Road 20-30 kms from Winnemucca.
Figure 3. Sandman Scoping Study proposed mine design. This has
not changed from the prior Phase 1 study.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Sandman Project presents strong financial
results and a compelling mine opportunity for a stand-alone open
pit gold mine, with Phase 1 mining above water table (for five
years) commencing at the North Hill deposit, followed by Silica
Ridge, Southeast Pediment and Abel Knoll deposits. Upon completion
of Phase 1, and the required below water table permitting and
dewatering efforts, Phase 2 mining (over four years) is expected to
commence immediately in the same order as Phase 1 commencing at
North Hill and heading southwards to the Abel Knoll deposit. The
two-phase approach is designed to conserve initial pre-production
capital while enabling rapid mine commissioning to achieve cashflow
and to fund the below water table permit for Phase 2 mining, and
also fund further exploration to increase the mine resources.
The mine proposal includes an onsite multi-stage
crushing plant, which is mobile and will move progressively from
each pit location, with separate dumps and two localized leach
pads. The first leach pad will be constructed for North Hill and
Silica Ridge, and the second leach pad will be constructed in year
3 and will receive mineralized material feed from Southeast
Pediment and Abel Knoll. Leach Pad expansions will be required in
years 5 and 6 to accommodate the additional tonnage from Phase 2
mining.
Economics are based upon contract mining,
crushing and heap leach as the main processing method. It is
planned to load the gold onto activated carbon and then transport
the loaded carbon to off-site stripping and refining plants for
final gold doré recovery. A simplified mining schedule is
anticipated to produce 35,000-40,000 ounces of gold per annum.
Given the North Hill and Silica Ridge deposits
outcrop on hill tops at surface, these deposits present the best
strip ratio starter pit mine scenarios3. Phase 1 is targeting these
low-strip ratio resources to enable rapid permitting (above water
table) for mine start-up and initial cash flow. Initial mine
production revenue will be used to fund further mine studies,
permitting and dewatering efforts to allow the Phase 2 mining below
the water table and this is expected be included in future
studies.
Table 3. Sandman Project Scoping Study mine
factors applied to the economic evaluation
Comments
- This scenario includes all material
within an optimized pit shell
- Recoveries assumed at 75% for heap
leaching. Opportunity exists to optimize recoveries after further
metallurgical test work is completed
- Optimized pit shells were applied,
not a refined pit design
- Future opportunity exists to
increase mine production, as this schedule assumes dayshift-only
mining to meet the planned material movement requirements
- Cashflow model includes a 1.2%
Royalty
Capital Categories
- Contingency added to capital to
cover unknown/unrecognized categories
- Working capital is sufficient to
cover 2 months of operating costs
- Capital estimates are based on
current quotes and/or information from previous projects (within
the past two years) and inflated to 2023 levels
- Engineering Procurement
Construction Management (EPCM)
- Earthworks – roads, stockpiles, and
yard construction
- Crushing/stacking equipment,
multi-stage crushing for 6-8Kt per day, cost estimate includes
installation and commissioning, entire system to be mobile and
follow mining from pit to pit
- Leach pad and ponds, 5-8Kt per day,
cost estimate includes installation and commissioning. Initial pad
built near North Hill and Silica Ridge with a second pad built near
Southeast Pediment and Abel Knoll in year 3.
- Carbon columns, cost estimate
includes installation and commissioning. One set of columns for the
initial leach pad and second set to be constructed for the second
leach pad
- Sustaining capital includes
temporary construction facilities, construction services, supplies,
quality control, survey support, construction equipment and
safety
- Sample preparation conducted on
site with off site gold analysis
- Infrastructure includes portable
office, warehouse/parts storage, and a workshop
- Initial purchase or lease of water
rights necessary to operate the mine
- Option to purchase additional
surface rights included
Operational Categories
- Mining contractor mobilisation for
12-15 equipment units, office space and other resources.
- Contract mining comprises:
- Drilling
- Blasting
- In-pit loading
- Waste haulage to near-pit waste
rock stockpile
- Product feed haulage to near-pit
stockpile location (for feed to crusher)
- Loader feed into a portable
(movable) crusher
- Loading of crushed material into
trucks
- Truck haulage to heap leach
pad
- Roads/dumps/stockpile
maintenance
- Company shall maintain small
workforce for project management, administration, SHE
permitting-training-compliance, general labor, crushing/heap leach
operations, supply chain etc.
- Contractor demobilization at the
end of the project life
- Centralised location for diesel,
gasoline, lubes, and oils
- Power Generation and Distribution
with mobile generators for crushing, pumping and other
infrastructure requirements, includes a back-up generator, power
poles, transformers for on-site distribution
- Further studies for alternative
power solutions are needed as this scenario uses diesel
generators
- Water supply and distribution,
water well construction and extraction, pumping and piping to
supply water for the project. Water usage 3,900 gallons per minute
with make-up water consumption rate of 285 gallons per minute
- Additional environmental and
hydrogeological baseline studies are required
- Initial purchase or lease of water
rights necessary to operate the mine
- Indirect owners’ costs include
temporary construction facilities, construction services, supplies,
quality control, survey support, construction equipment, safety
etc.
Operating CostsAn operating
cost estimate has been calculated at US$20.85 per tonne of
mineralized material mined and processed for the Project. The
estimate relates to all costs to allow production of gold doré,
capturing the processing plant facilities, contractor mining,
product refining and general and administration (G&A)
costs.
Functional Area |
Post-tax Cost per
Tonne Processed
(US$) |
Mining |
$7.80 |
Processing |
$5.66 |
G&A |
$2.99 |
Other Costs (Royalty, Taxes, etc.) |
$4.40 |
Total Site
Operating
Cost1 |
$20.85 |
Table 4. Sandman Project operating cost
summary.
Basis for Economic calculations
(tonnage/grades)The Company announced its Mineral Resource
Estimate on February 2, 2021 with combined Indicated and Inferred
ounces totaling 494K ounces of gold and summarized below. Refer to
Table 8 for the prior published summary of the Sandman Mineral
Resource Estimate in which the majority of the Mineral Resource is
Indicated a small amount is Inferred.
- Indicated Mineral Resource of 18,550kt @ 0.73g/t gold for
433kozs of gold
- Inferred Mineral Resource of 3,246kt @ 0.58g/t gold for 61kozs
of gold
The Scoping Studies are preliminary in
nature, include a small amount of 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, and there is no certainty that the
Scoping Studies will be realized.
A further grade model was created for the Phase
2 Scoping Study to include the 2021 and 2022 drill results and
estimate an above water table tonnage and grade model. This was
applied to the Scoping Phase 2 Study pit optimization work and the
resulting tonnes and grade used In the Phase 2 Study are summarised
in Table 5. The water table surface was conservatively defined by
first intercept of water in the exploration drill holes. Detailed
hydrogeological studies accurately defining the water table are yet
to be conducted and will be included in future Studies.
Table 5. Scoping Study tonnes and grade depicting 455K oz
contained gold within the pit optimisation
Mining MethodsThe Sandman Project is planned to
be mined using conventional open pit mining methods on the four (4)
separate deposits in the order listed in Table 6. The mining
operation schedule is dayshift only with a roster of two production
crews on a 4-days on and 4-days off, 12 hours per day.
Pre-production stripping is expected to be
minimal as mineralized material is located at or near surface on
hill tops where mining is anticipated to begin at the North Hill
and Silica Ridge deposits. The pit areas have small shrubs and
grasses that can be cleared with planned mining equipment.
Open pit mining is currently envisaged to be by
diesel-powered equipment, utilizing a combination of one rotary
blasthole rig drilling blastholes, one 8m3 front-end loader (or
similar size excavator), and five to six, 70-tonne capacity trucks
to handle mineralized material and waste. The mining fleet has
sufficient capacity to move up to approximately 6.0Mtpa of total
material on a dayshift-only schedule. Support equipment comprising
a grader, track dozer(s) and water truck will aid in the mining.
Mineralized material will be hauled to the crushing area for
stockpiling before being rehandled later for primary crushing.
Initially, waste rock will be stored in the waste rock dumps close
to the pit to reduce haulage costs. As space and design allows,
waste will be backfilled into the pit to reduce haulage costs and
surface disturbance.
Haul roads are contemplated to be 9-10m widths
for one-way traffic and 18-20m widths for two-way traffic. The
final location of the ramps is expected to be optimized to reduce
the overall pit slopes and to aid in efficient haulage to various
stockpile locations. The pit is considered dry in Phase 1 and wet
in Phase 2.
The mine plan was designed to deliver ~2.2Mt of
mineralized material per year to the processing facility. The mine
plan was based on efficient extraction of mineralized material
above the water table in Phase 1 and started at the North Hill
deposit (predicted higher-grade and low strip ratio) and then
working the deposits in a southerly direction without regard to
majority Indicated, and minority Inferred, Mineral Resource
categories. Phase 2 mining will continue below the water table also
starting at North Hill and working in a southerly direction towards
Abel Knoll.
The total estimated mining workforce is 55-60
people, comprising a team of 22 Gold Bull personnel and 30-35
mining contractors (20 production operators, 8 maintenance techs, 5
supervisory staff).
Period |
MineralizedMaterial |
GoldGrade |
ContainedGold |
TotalWaste |
TotalMaterial |
StripRatio |
|
tonnes |
g/t |
ounces |
tonnes |
tonnes |
w:o |
Year 1 |
1,633,000 |
0.82 |
42,857 |
3,120,000 |
4,753,000 |
1.9 |
Year 2 |
2,306,000 |
0.77 |
57,143 |
3,833,000 |
6,139,000 |
1.7 |
Year 3 |
2,685,000 |
0.66 |
57,143 |
2,799,000 |
5,484,000 |
1.0 |
Year 4 |
2,247,000 |
0.79 |
57,143 |
3,077,000 |
5,324,000 |
1.4 |
Year 5 |
2,844,000 |
0.57 |
51,714 |
5,371,000 |
8,215,000 |
1.9 |
Year 6 |
3,195,000 |
0.56 |
57,143 |
7,564,000 |
10,759,000 |
2.4 |
Year 7 |
2,042,000 |
0.87 |
57,143 |
7,678,000 |
9,720,000 |
3.8 |
Year 8 |
1,887,000 |
0.94 |
57,143 |
6,608,000 |
8,495,000 |
3.5 |
Year 9 |
580,000 |
0.94 |
17,571 |
2,031,000 |
2,611,000 |
3.5 |
Totals |
19,419,000 |
0.73 |
455,000 |
42,081,000 |
61,500,000 |
2.2 |
Table 6. Sandman Project annual mining production schedule for 9
years for the four Sandman deposits.
Recovery MethodsPrecious metal
recovery from this Scoping Phase 2 Study is through conventional
heap leaching and adsorption, desorption, regeneration (ADR)
technology for metal extraction from crushed product using industry
standard equipment. Processing will involve mineralized material
passing through multiple stages of crushing, which will allow for
haulage transport and end-dump stacking of the mineralized material
onto a heap leach pad. The processing facilities accommodate a
leachable tonnage of approximately 19.4Mt of product at a gold
grade of 0.73g/t and a process rate of 5,900tpd or 2.2Mtpa. The
heap leach pad facilities have been located and designed with
expandability for a LOM production increase.
Mineralized material will be delivered to the
crushing plant from the open pit and placed in the stockpile
adjacent to the crushing plant. The mineralized material will be
fed to the crushing plant using a front-end loader and will be
crushed and then transported to the heap leach pad via haul trucks.
The mineralized material will be stacked onto the heap using
industry standard end-dumping and dozer pushing and then leached
with a weak cyanide solution to extract the precious metal values.
The gold will then be recovered from the pregnant solution in the
carbon columns by adsorbing the dissolved gold onto activated
carbon, which will be bagged and transported off-site to an
external facility to extract gold from the loaded carbon. The
stripped carbon will be returned from the external treatment
facility to site for continuous reuse in the process plant. The
doré will be sent to a contract refiner for final refining.
Mineral ProcessingHistorical
metallurgical test work has been completed over several stages,
predominantly from the Silica Ridge, North Hill and Southeast
Pediment deposits, mostly by Newmont and Kappes, Cassiday and
Associates (KCA) in Reno, Nevada. Recent test work on samples from
Abel Knoll were completed by KCA for Gold Bull in 2021.
Historically, relatively extensive bottle roll
leach programs were conducted while only limited column leach tests
were completed for three of the four deposits. Further test work is
required to adequately determine the optimal processing circuit and
resulting gold recoveries for the gold mineralization at Sandman.
At this stage it is considered likely that a conventional
three-stage crush followed by heap leach processing could achieve
gold recoveries of 75%. Additional work is required to confirm the
crush size and gold recoveries from heap leaching.
Sensitivity AnalysisHigh level
sensitivity analysis of the Sandman Project economics was
conducted, indicating the project is most sensitive towards gold
price and less sensitive towards operating cost and least sensitive
to capital cost. Figure 4 and 5 and Table 7 demonstrate the range
of NPV in million dollars over a range of gold prices and include
Pre and Post Tax analysis.
Figure 4. Sandman sensitivity analysis evaluating gold price,
capital costs and operating costs both Pre-Tax and Post-Tax
analysis.
Figure 5. Sandman sensitivity analysis is most
sensitive to the gold price
Table 7. Gold price impact on Post-Tax NPV 6% and
IRR.
Table 8. January 2021 NI 43-101 Sandman Gold Resource Estimate.
Full report available: Sandman-NI-43-101_2021-01-20.pdf
(goldbull.ca) Please note that the Sandman 2021 NI 43-101 Resource
Estimate does not include drilling conducted by Gold Bull in 2021
and 2022.
NEXT STEPS
Further drilling and metallurgical, geotechnical
and hydrogeological studies are required for inclusion in a
Preliminary Feasibility Study and for use in mine permitting.
Baseline hydrogeological, cultural, and
biological surveys have previously been conducted at Sandman,
however, may need to be updated for mine permitting. Additional
technical and design optimization studies will also be required for
inclusion in a Preliminary Feasibility Study. Infill resource and
reserve drilling is required ahead of the mine schedule.
Optional additional exploration is warranted and
recommended to expand the current mineral resource base.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
This Scoping Study is a preliminary technical
and economic study investigating the potential viability of
commissioning and running a gold mine at the Sandman Project. The
Scoping Study includes a smaller amount of 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, and there is no certainty
that the Scoping Study will be realized.
The Scoping Study in this announcement is based
on technical and economic assumptions and assessments which could
be further refined and evaluated in a preliminary feasibility
study. If the Company were to attempt to bring the Sandman Project
into production without established mineral reserves on the project
supported by a full feasibility study, the Company cautions that
this could result in a higher risk of economic or technical failure
of the operation than if a full feasibility study had been prepared
demonstrating economic and technical viability.
The Scoping Study is based on material
assumptions outlined in this announcement. These include
assumptions about the availability of funding and other parameters.
While the Company considers all the material assumptions are based
on reasonable grounds, there is no certainty they will prove to be
correct or that the range of outcomes indicated in this Scoping
Study announcement can be achieved or realised. There are no
assurances that the Sandman Project will be found to be
economic.
To achieve the potential mine development
outcomes indicated in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 Scoping Study,
significant funding is required as well as further drilling and
metallurgical, hydrogeological, and environmental assessments and
permits received prior to confirming mining can take place. The
Study has focussed only on Phase 1 initial oxide mining of
mineralized material above the water table, then Phase 2 mining of
material below the water table, using conventional heap leach
processing. Investors should note there is no certainty that the
Company will be able to raise the required funding when needed,
however the Company has concluded that it has a reasonable basis
for providing the forward-looking statements included in this
announcement and believes that it has a “reasonable basis” to
expect it will be able to fund the gold development project upon
receiving satisfactory and favourable results for further
metallurgical, hydrogeological and environmental studies and
permits enabling economic ore extraction. Further studies are
required to confirm the proposed mine scenario and confirm
assumptions made in this Scoping Study.
It is also possible that such funding may only
be available on terms that may be dilutive, or otherwise affect the
value of the Company’s existing shares. It is also possible that
the Company could pursue other strategies to provide alternative
funding options including project finance.
Given the uncertainties involved for the
metallurgical, hydrogeological and environmental assessments and
permits, investors should not make any investment decision based
solely on the results of the Scoping Studies and assume a mine will
be developed, however every effort will be made by the Company to
progress towards mine development.
ABOUT SANDMAN
In December 2020, Gold Bull purchased the
Sandman Project from Newmont. Gold mineralization was first
discovered at Sandman in 1987 by Kennecott and the project has been
intermittently explored since then. There are four known pit
constrained gold resources located within the Sandman Project,
consisting of 21.8Mt at 0.7g/t gold for 494,000 ounces of gold;
comprising of an Indicated Resource of 18,550kt at 0.73g/t gold for
433kozs of gold plus an Inferred Resource of 3,246kt at 0.58g/t
gold for 61kozs of gold. Several of the resources remain open in
multiple directions and the bulk of the historical drilling has
been conducted to a depth of less than 100m. Sandman is
conveniently located circa 25-30 km northwest of the mining town of
Winnemucca, Nevada.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The technical information in this news release
has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Jerod Eastman, Mr. Steven
Olsen, and Mr. Carl E. Defilippi for only the sections which they
are responsible.
Mr. Eastman is a Qualified Person under National
Instrument 43-101. Mr. Eastman is a Registered Member (#00885850)
of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, Inc. and is
completely independent of Gold Bull Resources Corp. The information
in this news release that relates to mining and cost estimation is
based on, and fairly reflects, information compiled and approved by
Mr. Eastman.
Mr. Steven Olsen is a Qualified Person under
National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Olsen Is a Registered member of the
Australian Institute of Geoscientists (#7014) and is completely
independent of Gold Bull Resources Corp. The Information in this
public announcement that relates to Mineral Resource estimation was
produced and approved by Mr. Steven Olsen.
Mr. Carl E. Defilippi is a Qualified Person
under National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Defilippi is a Registered
Member (#775870) of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and
Exploration, Inc. and is completely independent of Gold Bull
Resources Corp. The Information in this new release that only
relates to Metallurgy was approved by Mr. Defilippi.
ABOUT GOLD BULL RESOURCES CORP.
Gold Bull’s mission is to grow into a US focused
mid-tier gold development Company via rapidly discovering,
developing and acquiring additional ounces. The Company’s
exploration hub is based in Nevada, USA, a top-tier mineral
district that contains significant historical production, existing
mining infrastructure and an established mining culture. Gold Bull
is led by a Board and Management team with a track record of
exploration and acquisition success.
Gold Bull’s core asset is the Sandman Project,
located in Nevada which has a 494,000 oz gold
resource as per 2021 NI 43-101 Resource Estimate. Sandman is
located 23 km south of the Sleeper Mine and boasts excellent
large-scale exploration potential.
Gold Bull is driven by its core values and
purpose which includes a commitment to safety, communication &
transparency, environmental responsibility, community, and
integrity.
Cherie LeedenPresident and CEO, Gold Bull Resources Corp.
For further information regarding Gold Bull
Resources Corp., please visit our website at www.goldbull.ca or
email admin@goldbull.ca or phone 778.401.8545.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
StatementsNeither 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 release.
This news release contains certain statements
that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” with respect to the
Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws.
Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical
facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words
“expects”, “plans”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”,
“estimates”, “projects”, “potential”, “indicates”, “opportunity”,
“possible” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions
“will”, “would”, “may”, “could” or “should” occur. Although Gold
Bull believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
not guarantees of future performance, are subject to risks and
uncertainties, and actual results or realities may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such
material risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
the Company’s ability to raise sufficient capital to fund its
planned activities at the Sandman Project; the timing and costs of
future activities on the Company’s properties; maintaining its
mineral tenures and concessions in good standing, to explore and
develop its projects, to repay its debt and for general working
capital purposes; changes in economic conditions or financial
markets; the inherent hazards associates with mineral exploration
and mining operations, future prices of gold and other metals,
changes in general economic conditions, accuracy of mineral
resource and reserve estimates, the potential for new discoveries,
the ability of the Company to obtain the necessary permits and
consents required to explore, drill and develop the projects and if
obtained, to obtain such permits and consents in a timely fashion
relative to the Company’s plans and business objectives for the
projects; the general ability of the Company to monetize its
mineral resources; and changes in environmental and other laws or
regulations that could have an impact on the Company’s operations,
compliance with environmental laws and regulations, dependence on
key management personnel and general competition in the mining
industry. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable
beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company’s management on the
date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the
Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or
opinions, or other factors, should change.
_________________1 announced September 12 2022 titled “Gold
Bull’s Sandman Project Scoping Study points to near-term production
potential” with report filed on October 27, 20222 applied Federal
Income Tax, NV Excise Tax, Net Proceeds Tax 3 Note both
Southeast Pediment and Silica Ridge also have mineralisation at
surface but a not on hill tops, these two deposits are at planar
level so the strip ratio is slightly higher.
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bdf7ff79-65be-41ed-957b-5120f906e44e
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bdc78d90-08e6-4a8e-912c-ec1ab5f40b68
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fce71dec-498f-4b4d-9562-3c7af21e217e
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3ec7882d-b9b5-471e-a63a-baf0d00eb247
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/058cf20b-a2b8-40d6-8a95-b57e5423c5b8
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d669e692-a1ff-4714-9431-cf78d7c633a2
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/301d87bd-5e67-413a-a862-63ffa66ffb31
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d64daa49-9898-4f06-a46b-d521d0541e4d
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a8cad12f-0555-4353-8b0c-9628796d7909
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