PERTH (miningweekly.com) - ASX-listed PanAust was targeting an output of between six- and seven-million tons of ore at its Phonsavan copper/gold project, in Laos, to produce around 25 000 t/y of copper and 20 000 oz/y of gold in concentrate over a mine life of around ten years.
The copper and gold miner said on Tuesday that it had launched a prefeasibility study (PFS) for the Phonsavan project in the June quarter of this year, with the study set for completion during the June quarter of next year.
The PFS was based on an estimated indicated and inferred mineral resource of 89-million tons, grading 0.44% copper and 0.18 g/t gold, as well as 1.7 g/t silver.
PanAust noted that subject to the ongoing success of drilling and evaluations, a full feasibility study (FS) was expected to be completed in the second half of 2013. The studies would consider the potential to add further mineralisation sourced from deposits in the area, including the Tharkhek copper/gold and gold deposits.
PanAust said that based on its experience developing operations in Laos, it expected that capital cost for the Phonsavan project would be competitive compared with industry norms, and would likely be in the range of between $200-million and $300-million.
Subject to the successful outcome of the FS and a two-year construction phase, commissioning and production could start in late 2015
