Black Bear Minerals (ASX:BKB) reports a Scoping Study for its Independence Gold Project in Nevada has delivered a post-tax net present value of $511 million and a 64% internal rate of return.
The study outlines an open pit heap leach development for near-surface epithermal mineralisation.
Black Bear estimates a production target of 31.9 million tonnes at 0.30 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) and 6.09g/t silver (Ag), comprising 73% indicated and 27% inferred resources.
The company expects to recover 250,000oz Au and 1.77 million ounces (Moz) Ag over a 9.7-year mine life, with a strip ratio of 1.20:1.
The study assumes gold prices of $6,128 per ounce and silver at $93 per ounce.
CEO Dennis Lindgren says the Scoping Study demonstrates a ‘compelling’ preliminary development case for the project.
“Importantly, these outcomes utilise only a portion of the current mineral resource estimate and exclude both the substantially larger current epithermal resource and the high-grade skarn resource,” Lindgren points out.
The company estimates all-in sustaining costs of $2,248 per ounce, net of silver by-product credits. Initial capital requirements total $119 million, plus $8 million for working capital and initial fills.
Pre-production funding requirements total $127 million, while Black Bear currently holds $5.17 million in cash and available funding resources.
The study outlines contract-mined open pits, two-stage crushing, heap leaching, and Merrill-Crowe recovery at 9,000 tonnes per day, with a payback period of 1.4 years.
Overall gold recovery is projected at around 76%, comprising 79% for oxide material and 50% for transitional material, alongside 27% silver recovery.
Black Bear’s current epithermal mineral resource estimate has grown to 1.22Moz gold equivalent — 190% larger than the March 2025 estimate of 419,600oz that formed the basis of this study.
The company plans a revised Scoping Study to incorporate the full resource, infill drilling, and metallurgical test work.
The Independence Project sits in Lander County, Nevada, directly adjacent to Nevada Gold Mines’ Phoenix Project. The deposit encompasses a 2.2Moz resource comprising a 1Moz skarn resource at 6.30g/t Au and a 1.2Moz epithermal resource.
According to the Scoping Study, $4.6 million of near-term work is recommended to advance the epithermal heap-leach case toward a Prefeasibility Study, alongside $1.6 million for initial deep-skarn drilling.
The project requires federal and Nevada state approvals, including a Bureau of Land Management plan of operations and environmental review.
Black Bear Minerals is a mineral explorer and developer focused on gold, silver, and lithium assets in tier one mining jurisdictions across North America.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
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