Gold loses some luster after Trump’s decisive win
Gold’s slide is a marked turnaround for a commodity that had surged by more than 30% in the year leading up to the US vote.
Romarco Minerals is continuing to identify mineralization at the Haile Gold Mine in South Carolina.
The company’s latest drill results show continued growth in the mineralized system, which is open in all directions and at depth:
Drilling between South Pit and Ledbetter continues to identify mineralization between the two proposed pits. RCT-49 returned 31.8 meters of 17.3 g/t gold, including a high-grade intercept of 7.6 meters of 66.9 g/t gold.
In the western portion of South Pit, DDH-350 encountered 39.2 meters of 2.6 g/t gold, including a highergrade intercept of 17.7 meters of 4.3 g/t gold. This drill hole is located within the higher-grade area of South Pit named Mill Zone.
According to the company’s feasibility study, released Feb. 9, the project has a net present value (NPV) of US$279 million, discounted at 5%, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 19.6%, assuming a gold price of $950/oz. At $1300 gold, the NPV jumps to $693 million at a 5% discount with a 37.6% IRR. The $950/oz base case is expected to generate pre-tax cash of $508 million.
The proposed open-pit mine contains 2.0 million tonnes of proven and probable gold reserves at 2.06 g/t. Romarco Minerals is budgeting $275 million in capital costs to bring the project into operation, with an average cash cost of $347/oz for the first five years of the mine’s 13-year life.
