GoldQuest Mining (TSXV: GQC) expects recent changes to the Dominican Republic’s environmental regulations to benefit the advancement of its Romero project in San Juan province, which is currently at the permitting stage.
In a press release Tuesday, GoldQuest said the regulatory changes would allow formal engagement with the Ministry of Environment with respect to its project application. Previously, the ministry was unable to review mining project applications without Presidential approval.
The company has already begun preparing its formal application to obtain the terms of reference, a key first step toward advancing the Romero project towards the feasibility and environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) stages.
GoldQuest first announced the Romero discovery in 2012, when drilling return promising results that included 2.4 grams per tonne gold, including 160.3 metres grading 2.9 g/t gold and 0.62% copper. That drilling led a to a first mineral reserve estimate totalling 840,000 oz. gold, 980,000 oz. silver and 136 million lb. copper.
In 2016, GoldQuest completed a pre-feasibility study for the proposed 2,800-tonne-per-day underground mine that focused on the high-grade gold and copper “core” of the Romero deposit. The PFS outlined an eight-year operation with average gold-equivalent production of 109,000 oz. per year.
The Romero project’s after-tax net present value (at 5% discount) is calculated at $203 million, with an internal rate of return of 28%. Initial capital is estimated at $158.6 million, increasing to $250.9 over the life of mine. Payback of this capital is 2.5 years.
The mine plan excludes over half of Romero’s mineral resources, as well as the entirety of the Romero South deposit, which is 1 km away and also part of the project. The unmined portion of the resources leaves significant room for potential expansion, the company says.
In Tuesday’s release, CEO Luis Santana said the company is funded to initiate a full feasibility study to build on its existing PFS once the necessary approvals are obtained from the Dominican environment ministry.
Goldquest Mining’s share price shot up to a 52-week high of C$0.26 following the positive development, taking its market capitalization to C$65 million ($46.6m).
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