Gold Road Resources has confirmed the underground potential of its Gruyere gold mine in Western Australia following recent exploration.
An underground scoping study for Gruyere was recently completed by SRK Consulting, presenting a sub-level cave underground mining option based on a gold price of $2240 per ounce.
Gold Road said the underground scoping study “confirms key inputs and investigates the technical and economic viability of underground mining at Gruyere”.
“As Gold Road has long maintained; the underground mining potential has the ability to transform Gruyere into a multi-decade life mine, and is expected to add material value to the Gruyere JV* and Gold Road shareholders,” Gold Road Resources managing director and chief executive officer Duncan Gibbs said.
The scoping study supports a new exploration target estimate, ranging from 25–31 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.20–1.47 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold for 1–1.5 million ounces (Moz) on a 50 per cent basis.
Gruyere’s current mineral resource exclusive of ore reserve stands at 45Mt at 1.51g/t for 2.2Moz.
Initial capital infrastructure costs are estimated at $470 million for Gruyere’s underground development, with total costs estimated at $588 million on a 100 per cent basis, including a 30 per cent contingency.
“The results of this underground study, coupled with the commitment of $26 million from the joint venture to confirm the orebody at depth, take us another step closer to realising the long-term value of mining operation at Gruyere,” Gibbs said.
The $26 million will be used to conduct 60,000m drilling program at Gruyere, which is expected to be completed by mid-2026. The program will target ore zones up to 700m deep.
The 60,000m drilling program, alongside other activities, will support a pre-feasibility study for Gruyere in 2026.
*Gruyere is a 50:50 JV between Gold Road and Gold Fields.
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