St Barbara’s Fifteen Mile Stream project will be designed as a standalone 1.7–1.8 megatons per annum (Mtpa) processing facility.
St Barbara has completed concept level evaluations which determined that the Touquoy processing plant will be relocated to the Fifteen Mile Stream project.
The company described the change as the “preferred development pathway” for the next phase of its Atlantic operations, which consist of the Fifteen Mile Stream project that is located approximately 40 kilometres east-northeast of the Touquoy mine, while its Beaver Dam project is mid-way between the Fifteen Mile Stream project and the Touquoy mine.
The Touquoy processing plant was designed and built by Ausenco, a construction and engineering company.
Ausenco is currently working with St Barbara’s study team to complete an updated process plant design and capital and operating cost estimates by early November.
The mineral resources and ore reserves estimates for the Fifteen Mile Stream project will be updated to suit the revised basis of design by St Barbara and Moose Mountain Technical Services.
“This new design for Fifteen Mile Stream is an excellent alternative pathway to development with improved recoveries and with lower overall capital cost and execution risk,” St Barbara chief executive officer Andrew Strelein said.
“Given the delays in approvals to our in-pit tailings proposal, it is time to move away from the earlier design which integrated with the Touquoy mine. This is a simpler standalone proposition with design parameters targeting a ten-year mine life and approximately 60,000 ounces per annum.”
The Touquoy processing plant was first commissioned in 2017 with a nameplate throughput rate of 2.0 Mtpa.
Earlier in the week, Linden Gold Alliance completed the debt restructure it had with St Barbara, making St Barbara a majority shareholder in Linden.