Rye Patch Announces Lincoln Hill Preliminary Economic Assessment
21 May 2014 - 11:00PM
Marketwired Canada
Rye Patch Gold Corp (TSX VENTURE:RPM)(OTCQX:RPMGF)(FRANKFURT:5TN) (the "Company"
or "Rye Patch") is pleased to announce the results of a Preliminary Economic
Assessment ("PEA") for its 100%-owned Lincoln Hill Gold and Silver project
located in Pershing County, Nevada. A technical report compliant with NI 43-101
is being completed by Metal Mining Consultants Inc. ("MMC") and will be filed at
www.sedar.com within 45 days. The PEA confirms that the Lincoln Hill represents
a robust economic opportunity in the current gold price environment.
PEA Highlights:
-- Base Case Pre-tax IRR of 76.5% and NPV (5% discount rate) of USD$64.2M;
-- Average annual production of 33,000 Au ounces and 753,000 Ag ounces per
year with a peak annual production of 63,700 Au ounces and 1,011,000 Ag
ounces;
-- Life of Mine ("LOM") cash cost of USD$575 per Au equivalent
("AuEq")1ounce, and total costs of USD$759 per AuEq1; and
-- Drilling on the Independence Hill and Roosevelt targets has potential to
expand the resource and enhance the project economic model.
The Company cautions that the PEA is preliminary in nature in that it is based
on Inferred Mineral Resources which are considered too speculative geologically
to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be
characterized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will
be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have
demonstrated economic viability.
Commenting on the results of the PEA, Rye Patch Gold Corp. President and CEO
William Howald stated, "We are extremely pleased with the results of the Lincoln
Hill PEA. MMC brought their depth of experience from economic assessments on
similar deposits in Nevada to produce a top-notch PEA of the Lincoln Hill
deposit. This PEA is an important milestone in showing the positive economic
viability of projects along the Oreana trend. As mandated in the market place,
stakeholders are looking for projects with low estimated start-up capital and
unit operating costs, and robust economic returns. This makes Lincoln Hill an
attractive investment opportunity in the current gold and silver price
environment."
"In addition, the exploration potential at Lincoln Hill remains very
attractive," Mr. Howald continued. "This PEA is based on drilling within an
800-metre zone. Adjacent to Lincoln Hill, the Independence and Roosevelt targets
contain 1,300 metres of similar alteration and surface gold and silver
geochemistry to Lincoln Hill (See news release dated May 9, 2013). The
Independence Hill and Roosevelt zones are highly favourable for expanding the
resources and enhancing the project economics. Our drilling program has started
and will address the upside potential at Independence Hill and Roosevelt. The
Company has an excellent future with cash in the bank, a royalty revenue stream,
and a robust economic project."
MMC has concluded that the most attractive development scenario for Lincoln Hill
consists of an open-pit mining operation with a heap leach processing plant
handling both oxide and sulphide material, and producing a gold-silver dore. A
"heap leach only" base case scenario was developed for the project with
production of 1,584,000 tonnes per year, resulting in a projected 5 year
operation with average annual production of 33,000 ounces of gold and 753,000
ounces of silver. Projected life-of-mine average cash operating costs are US$575
per ounce of AuEq1 recovered. Start-up capital costs for this project scenario
are estimated at US$26.2 million. The total cost of AuEq1 production (including
cash operating costs and total capital and contingency costs over the life of
the mine) is estimated at US$759 per AuEq1 ounce.
At a gold price of US$1350 per ounce and a silver price of $22 per ounce, the
base case has a US$78.4 million pre-tax net cash flow, a US$64.2 million net
present value at a 5% discount rate, and an internal rate of return of 76.5%. At
US$1450 gold and US$25 silver, the total pre-tax net cash flow increases by 22%
over the base case to US$95.1 million, the net present value increases to
US$78.6 million and the internal rate of return improves to a robust 90.7%.
Base Case Assumptions
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Summary of Base Case Assumptions
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Gold Price (USD$) $1,350
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Silver Price (USD$) $22
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Average Annual Gold Production (ounces) 33,000
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Average Annual Silver Production (ounces) 753,000
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Peak Annual Gold Production (ounces ) 63,700
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Peak Annual Silver Production (ounces ) 1,011,000
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Pre-Production Capital Costs (USD$) $26.2 M
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LOM Sustaining Capital (USD$) $4.0 M
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Pre-Production Period (years) 1
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Mine Life (years) 5
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Cash Cost per AuEq.1 Ounce (USD$) $575
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Cash Costs and Sustaining Cost per AuEq.1 Ounce (USD$) $759
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PRE-TAX
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Life of Mine NPV at 5% Discount Rate (USD$) $64.2 M
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Internal Rate of Return 76.5%
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Payback Period (years) 1.3
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AFTER-TAX
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Life of Mine NPV at 5% Discount Rate (USD$) $40.9 M
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Internal Rate of Return 53.0%
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Payback Period (years) 1.6
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1 AuEq. means gold and silver equivalence at a gold-silver ratio of 1:67 based
on price and recovery.
At a gold price of US$1250 per ounce and a silver price of $20 per ounce, the
project remains robust with a US$63.8 million pre-tax net cash flow, a US$51.5
million net present value at a 5% discount rate, and an internal rate of return
of 63.7%.
PEA Overview
The PEA was prepared as an open-pit mining project based solely on the resources
reported by the company on September 17, 2012. Wheel loaders and trucks will be
used to access mineralization. Material would then be transported to a heap
leach facility and processed as run-of-mine ore. Metal would be recovered onsite
and sold as gold-silver dore.
The average annual production is 1,582,000 tonnes at a contained AuEq1 grade of
0.89 grams per tonne. On an annual basis, 33,200 ounces of gold and 753,000
ounces of silver will be placed on the leach pad. Based on gold and silver
recoveries, the metal produced and sold will be 106,000 ounces of gold and
2,222,000 ounces of silver.
Mineral Resources
In September 2012, Scott E. Wilson Consulting, Inc. ("SEWC" and now Metal Mining
Consultants Inc.) completed a National Instrument 43-101-compliant global
resource estimate for the Lincoln Hill project titled "Technical Report - Rye
Patch Gold Corp., Lincoln Hill Property, Pershing County, Nevada" dated
September 17, 2012 (see news release dated September 17, 2012 for details). In
their analysis, SEWC estimated mineral resources for oxide and sulphide material
separately, and reported these resources at various cut-off grades. The resource
estimate prepared by SEWC, in the form of the resource block model, was used as
the basis for determining potentially mineable mineralization in the PEA.
National Instrument 43-101 compliant global mineral resources estimated by SEWC
at a cut-off grade of 0.1 grams of gold per tonne for oxide material and 0.2
grams of gold per tonne for sulphide material were as follows:
To view the tables please click the following link:
http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/RYETables521.pdf
Mine Planning
A Preliminary Economic Assessment provides a basis to estimate project operating
and capital costs and establish a projection of the potential mineable resource
including measured, indicated and inferred categories as permitted under
National Instrument 43-101. A Whittle pit optimization was performed using
estimates of operating costs typical of operating surface mines using heap leach
processing in northern Nevada, and using estimates of metallurgical recovery
based on test work performed on samples from Lincoln Hill drill samples. The
ultimate pit shell was determined using a gold price of $1,350 per ounce. In-pit
resources used for production scheduling are as follows:
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Mineralized Gold Gold Silver Silver
Material Grade Ounces Grade Ounces
Classification (Tonnes X1,000) g/t (X1,000) g/t (X1,000)
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Measured 1,567 0.62 31 12.9 648
Indicated 5,250 0.69 116 13.7 2,311
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Measured & Indicated 6817 0.67 148 13.5 2,958
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Inferred 1,092 0.53 19 23.3 819
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The estimated strip ratio for the economic pit is 0.54 tonne of waste for every
tonne of ore.
Metallurgy
Based on bottle roll testing and capital economic considerations, a run of mine
(ROM) heap leach process has been selected as the best processing method. A heap
leach pad, capable of holding 8 million tonnes of leach material at a loading
rate of 4.4 thousand tonnes per day, will be the basis for recovering metals
from the Property. Run of Mine gold recovery is expected at 64% of total placed
and silver at 59% of total placed. Recovery is expected over two years from date
placed on a declining curve. The pad will remain open for two years from final
leach material placed before final reclamation begins.
Capital Costs
Capital costs were developed based on scaling costs from similar facilities for
production rates and from design basis assumptions including a contractor
operated mining fleet. The estimated life of mine capital costs for the base
case are summarized as follows:
Life of Mine Estimated Capital Costs
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Description US$(millions)
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Initial Capital 14.2
Working Capital 4.0
Indirect, Sustaining, Owner and Royalties 12.0
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Total 30.2
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Operating Costs
Operating cost assumptions were based on similar scale surface mining operations
using heap leach processing in northern Nevada, and process cost estimates for
key consumables based on the available metallurgical test data, power
consumption data and prevailing costs for key materials in similar Nevada mining
operations. Operating cost assumptions per tonne of material processed are
summarized as follows:
Unit Operating Costs
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US$s
(Per Tonne
Cost Category Processed)
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Waste Mining Cost $2.50
Ore Mining Cost $3.10
Heap Leach Processing $3.60
General and Administrative $1.50
Reclamation $0.76
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Total $11.46
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Economic Analysis
MMC chose US$1350 for gold and US$22 for silver as the base case economic
scenario. The base case pre-tax economic results for the metal price assumptions
are as follows:
Pre Tax Projected Economic Results (US$)
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Base Case
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Gold Price per Ounce $1350
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Silver Price per Ounce $22
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Net Cash Flow $78.4 million
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NPV @ 5% Discount Rate $64.2 million
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Internal Rate of Return 76.5%
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Operating Costs per Ounce of Gold Equivalent Produced (Life-
of-Mine) $575
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Total Costs per Ounce of Gold Equivalent Produced (Includes
all Capital) $759
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Infrastructure
There are currently no infrastructure facilities located at Lincoln Hill.
Lincoln Hill is accessible from Lovelock, Nevada and near Highway Interstate 80.
The Project is accessed via the Lovelock-Unionville Road, the same road used to
access Coeur Mining's Rochester Mine. There is ample electric power available.
Water is available. Two nearby operations, Pershing Gold's Relief Canyon and the
Coeur Rochester Mine are currently in operation. With proper permitting, Lincoln
Hill could become an operating Nevada mine. Lovelock, Winnemucca, Fallon and
Fernley are close enough to support an experienced mining staff.
About the Lincoln Hill Gold Silver Project
The Lincoln Hill resource estimates are based on 100 exploration drillholes.
There were a total of 5,495 three-metre-length composites used in the estimation
of gold and 5,495 three-metre-length composites used in the estimation of
silver. The results were calculated using Vulcan software and stored in a Vulcan
block model. SEWC used Inverse Distance Cubed as the preferred estimation
technique for the Lincoln Hill resource.
Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic
viability.
National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure
The PEA for the Lincoln Hill project was prepared by Metal Mining Consultants
Inc. ("MMC") under the direction of Scott E. Wilson, CPG and incorporates the
work of a number of industry-leading consultants, all of which are Qualified
Persons (as defined under National Instrument 43-101) and are independent of Rye
Patch. Scott Wilson has reviewed and approved this press release.
About Rye Patch Gold Corp.
Rye Patch Gold Corp. is a Tier 1, well-funded junior mining company with a
royalty revenue stream from the operating Rochester silver mine and significant
gold and silver resources, all located in the mining friendly state of Nevada,
USA. The Company's seasoned management team is engaged in the acquisition,
exploration, and development of quality resource-based gold and silver projects.
Rye Patch Gold US Inc. controls over 75 square kilometres (30 sq. miles) of
land, and has a 3.4 % Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalty from the Rochester silver
mine along the Oreana trend located in west-central Nevada. The Company is
aggressively developing gold and silver resources along this emerging trend,
utilizing existing funds and cash flow from the NSR royalty which is fully
leveraged to the price of gold and silver. In east central Nevada, Rye Patch
Gold US Inc. is exploring 66 square kilometres of exploration land along the
prolific Cortez trend contiguous to Barrick's new Goldrush deposit. The Company
has established gold and silver resource milestones and time frames in order to
build a premier resource development company. For more information about the
Company, please visit our website at www.ryepatchgold.com.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
William C. (Bill) Howald, CEO & President
This news release contains forward-looking statements, which address future
events and conditions, which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The
Company's actual results, programs and financial position could differ
materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result
of numerous factors, some of which may be beyond the Company's control. These
factors include: the availability of funds; the financial position of Rye Patch;
the timing and content of work programs; the results of exploration activities
and development of mineral properties; the interpretation of drilling results
and other geological data; the reliability of calculation of mineral resources
(and, in respect of the Coeur Rochester mine 3.4% NSR, the reliability of
calculation of Coeur's mineral resources and reserves); the reliability of
calculation of precious metal recoveries; the receipt and security of mineral
property titles; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses;
fluctuations in metal prices; currency fluctuations; and general market and
industry conditions.
Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the
Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used
in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the
time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance
should not be placed on forward-looking statements.
Neither 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Rye Patch Gold Corp.
(604) 638-1588
(604) 638-1589 (FAX)
info@ryepatchgold.com
www.ryepatchgold.com
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