Echo Resources announced that it has received approval for the mining proposal and mine closure plan for both the Julius and Orelia deposits at the Yandal Gold Project from the West Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS).
Image: Yandal gold project is a high-grade gold mine located in the Yandal gold belt in Western Australia. Photo courtesy of PublicDomainPictures/Pixabay.
Yandal gold project is a high-grade gold mine located in the Yandal gold belt in Western Australia and comprises more than 1,600km² of highly prospective tenement holdings. Echo Resources owns the project and is developing it in two stages.
Echo said that the present approval from DMIRS marks the final requirement to start the mining activities at the Yandal Project.
The company said that it has signed a conditional letter of intent (LoI) with MACA for the open pit mining and mill refurbishment contracts.
Echo is currently carrying out an updated bankable feasibility study for the Yandal Project which is expected to be released in the first quarter 2019. However, the project development is subjected to the outcomes of the revised BFS, securing project funding and approval of the Echo Board.
Echo managing director and CEO Victor Rajasooriar said: “Receipt of the final key mining approvals needed for the Yandal Project ahead of the completion of the updated BFS later this month is an important milestone for Echo.
“We are now in a stronger position to secure project financing and seek the final Board approval required to commence project development during 2019.”
The project is expected to produce 785,000oz of gold during 8.5 years of its mine life and an estimated 6.5million tons of ore, grading 2g/t Au, is expected to be treated in the first stage to produce 380,402oz of gold over four years.
The Yandal project’s existing infrastructure includes a mining camp, operational airstrip, power, water and telecommunication infrastructure, and a network of haulage and access roads. Conventional open-pit mining techniques are expected to deployed for mining at the project.