Two weeks after issuing a downgrade, Alkane Resources (ASX:ALK) has followed through on a promise to release a new five-year development plan for its Tomingley gold mine in the central west of NSW, where it is also in the process of unearthing a series of massive copper ore bodies.
Earlier this month, Alkane produced a downgrade of its 2023-24 gold production and cost estimates for the Tomingley mine. Alkane blamed the ramp-up of its Rosewell underground expansion not being "sufficiently rapid to allow the original guidance to be met.”
The company revealed that full-year gold production from the mine in the central west of NSW would be in the range of 55,000 to 58,000 ounces, down from the previous range of 60,000 to 65,000.
However, it also promised a new five-year plan for the mine by the end of June, and that emerged on Monday with the confident assertion that Alkane plans to increase Tomingley’s production to above 100,000 ounces of gold per year while also expanding the site’s plant to a nominal 1.5 million tonnes per annum.
Alkane has to make a final investment decision in early 2025 but is confident it can produce between 485,000 and 505,000 ounces of gold from Tomingley over the next five years. “The underground at Roswell has begun production, and we expect to produce over 70,000 ounces of gold next year,” Alkane CEO Nic Earner said in Monday’s statement. “The paste plant and the flotation/regrind circuit are under construction with commissioning expected later this year.
“The firing of the first production stope at Roswell is a major milestone for Tomingley that we have been working towards since drilling our first exploration hole there in 2018,” Earner said earlier this year. “Not only does Roswell have higher-grade stopes, but it is open at depth and along strike.”
Tomingley’s five-year plan also involves the relocation of the Newell Highway, a project expected to cost Alkane $89 million for the highway job and expansion, as well as $43 million in planned spending.
“The deposits across Tomingley are open at depth and along strike, and our known resources extend beyond this immediate five-year plan,” Earner said. “We’re looking forward to delivering on this plan.”
Last week, Alkane revealed several interesting gold/copper intersections from its North Molong prospects that suggest a new area of interest at Driell Creek and more resources (at depth) around its Boda prospects, which are south of the huge Kaiser prospect.
In a statement to the ASX on June 21, CEO Earner said, “This program of drilling has confirmed the potential to find further deposits similar to Boda and Kaiser across the Northern Molong Porphyry tenement package.
“Driell Creek has delivered some encouraging results from this round of drilling. Driell Creek is emerging as our next priority area for follow-up drilling. Early-stage target generation work will continue at several other prospects.
“Alkane is very close to finalising the scoping study for the Boda-Kaiser deposits at the NMPP. Any regional discoveries carry the potential to upgrade the project’s long-term economic outcomes.”
