New Age Metals updated its 43-101 resource estimate for the River Valley project near Sudbury, Ontario, to include a total of 3.9 million contained oz. of palladium plus platinum plus gold (Pd+Pt+Au). There are an estimated 2.3 million oz. in the measured and indicated resource, plus 1.6 million oz. in the inferred resource.
The River Valley palladium project is wholly owned by New Age. A prefeasibility study is due to be completed in the first half of next year.
Using a cutoff of $15 net smelter return per tonne, the pit constrained measured and indicated resource contains 89 million tonnes grading 0.79 g/t Pd+Pt+Au. Inferred resources are 92.7 million tonnes grading 0.53 g/t Pd+Pt+Au.
When a cut-off of $25 NSR/t is used, The pit-constrained measured and indicated resources are 60.1 million tonnes grading 1.02 g/t Pd+Pt+Au, and the inferred resource is 48.4 million tonnes grading 0.72 g/t Pd+Pt+Au. In this scenario, the contained palladium+platinum+gold oz. are 3.1 million ounces.
Outside the planned open pit, the measured and indicated resources also contain 642,000 tonnes grading 1.49 g/t Pd+Pt+Au, and the inferred resource is 1.6 million tonnes grading 1.21 g/t Pd+Pt+Au, using a $50 NSR/t cut-off.
New Age says the current resource estimate was prepared by P&E Mining Consultants using a database of 723 holes (156,421 metres) completed between 2000 and 2020.
(This article first appeared in the Canadian Mining Journal)
