PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A new life-of-mine (LoM) plan for the Coolgardie operation, in Western Australia, could see ASX-listed Focus Minerals resume production by next year.

The company on Monday told shareholders that the new LoM plan would result in the production of 402 000 oz of gold over a seven-year mine life, for a capital investment of A$51.8-million.

“Focus has made significant progress with the objective of ensuring a successful resumption of mining activities at the Coolgardie gold project. Our diligent and disciplined work in refining elements of the production scenario has given us a high confidence LoM plan with sustainable and profitable operations for at least seven years,” said executive chairperson Wanghong Yang.

The new LoM plan sees the resumption of mining at the Greenfields openpit in the first half of 2023. The 1.8-million tonnes of ore mined at Greenfields will feed the refurbished Three Mile Hill (TMH) plant for around 18 months and produce around 65 000 oz of gold.

The CNX openpit is scheduled to follow Greenfields with a 12-month mining schedule providing 1.2-million tonnes of mill feed and producing 44 000 oz of gold. Openpit mining will be rounded out with the Brilliant South deposit where around 3.5-million tonne of ore is mined over 40 months providing around three years mill feed and producing around 149 000 oz of gold.

A new underground mine at Bonnie Vale will supplement the openpit ore with high-grade feed over the LoM plan. Underground mining will start around 12 months after the commissioning of the TMH plant.

With a current mine life of three years, Bonnie Vale will produce 926 000 t containing 145 000 oz of gold.

The current ore reserve extends only 235 m below surface, limited only by the current drilling extent, and the Bonnie Vale deposit remains open at depth and along strike, a strong indication of potential for further mine life, Focus told shareholders.

The ASX-listed company has now executed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with MACA, valued at A$39.7-million for the refurbishment of the TMH plant, and commissioning is scheduled for mid-2023.

“The good work of the Focus team has enabled a consultative approach with our contracting partners to develop a sound pathway to production in a highly competitive mining industry environment. We will continue to improve our LoM plan at Coolgardie as we look to maximise value from our significant tenement and resource package,” Yang said.

Meanwhile, the company is assessing the viability of toll treating low-grade stockpiles and ore from the Big Blow deposit to bring in early cashflow in the 2022 calendar year, and has now negotiated and secured 200 000 t processing capacity at a nearby plant to toll treat its ore.

During October, Focus commenced toll processing of historically stockpiled low-grade material from the Dreadnought and Empress openpits. A processing campaign has commenced with around 2 200 oz produced to date.