Bardoc Gold appoints processing plant builder with project development imminent

Bardoc Gold Ltd is closer to developing its flagship three-million-ounce gold project following the appointment of GR Engineering Services Ltd as its preferred builder of the processing plant. The company earlier this month released its optimisation study, indicating the potential to increase gold production in the first five years of the pair of underground mines above estimations from the definitive feasibility study. It is also targeting a substantial re-rate of the resource estimate at the 530,000-ounce Zoroastrian deposit with a major new drilling program underway. Mine development imminent And now, as Bardoc CEO Robert Ryan told investors, the company is looking ahead to its future as a mid-tier Australian gold producer. “We are ramping up on every front with drilling underway to grow the inventory and mine life, a study on increasing production and cashflow significantly and now the award of preferred tenderer status to GR for construction of the plant,” he said. “We are moving rapidly towards the development of a new high-quality, high-margin gold project near Kalgoorlie. “The competitive tender process has drawn a number of quality submissions, reflecting the rapid progression of the Bardoc Gold Project and the high-quality work completed as part of the DFS. “The appointment of GR Engineering marks another key step in the development of the project and establishes an important relationship with a leading design and construction group.” Tender appointment details GR Engineering won the engineering, procurement and construction contract, a key step as work continues to accelerate on key project optimisation strategies aimed at streamlining the mining and production schedule, growing the production rate and improving project economics and returns. A leading mineral processing design and construction company, GR has extensive experience in the gold sector and has recently completed the construction of a number of comparable processing plants in WA. The proposed 2.1 million tonnes per annum processing facility would be at the Aphrodite deposit, providing the opportunity to extract further value from the 1.6-million-ounce Aphrodite Project and, in the future, from the highly prospective Omega, Sigma and Gamma Lodes, where recent exploration success has highlighted the strong potential for resource growth. Bardoc’s analysis suggests that the additional upfront capital expenditure required to bring forward the construction of the flotation circuit required to treat baseload ore from the Aphrodite Deposit is partially offset by other infrastructure cost reductions. Notably, the additional high-grade ounces will provide strong free cash flow in the first five years of the mine plan. Next steps Drilling continues at the Zoroastrian deposit, while Bardoc and GR will complete the optimisation work underway as the company moves towards project financing and a final investment decision before the end of the year. Results from the optimisation work are expected to drop by the end of August. As it currently stands, the project is forecast to produce 130,000 ounces of gold per year at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,188/ounce, although Bardoc is very confident that figure can be improved. - Daniel Paproth