Legacy Minerals (ASX:LGM) is assessing a larger processing operation at its Mt Carrington Gold-Silver Project in New South Wales following a 39% increase in resource tonnes.
The company expects to complete an optimised Scoping Study during the December 2026 quarter. The work will evaluate plant throughput above the 1-million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) scale considered previously.
Ausenco Services is undertaking process engineering, cost estimation, and financial modelling, while WSP Australia, part of WSP Global (TSX:WSP), is completing mine optimisation and scheduling.
The study incorporates Mt Carrington’s July 2026 mineral resource estimate of 47.9 million tonnes (Mt) @ 1 gram per tonne gold equivalent (AuEq) for 1.6 million ounces (Moz) AuEq.
The resource contains 714,000 ounces gold and 35Moz silver. Compared with the 2025 estimate underpinning the original Scoping Study, resource tonnes have increased 39%, contained gold has risen 9%, and contained silver has grown 44%.
Indicated resources have increased 69% to 19.3Mt @ 1.22g/t AuEq for 760,000 ounces.
CEO and Managing Director Christopher Byrne says the expanded resource provides an opportunity to investigate a larger development.
“We now have the opportunity to assess the scale economies of a larger plant and an expanded production target, with the aim of increasing annual metal production, extending cash flow, and improving project economics,” Byrne says.
The May 2026 Scoping Study was based on processing 10.1Mt at 1Mtpa over a 12-year mine life, representing less than a quarter of the current resource tonnage.
Its base case returned a pre-tax net present value discounted at 7% of $382 million, a 31% internal rate of return, and gross life-of-mine revenue of $1.82 billion. The case assumed gold and silver prices of US$3,868 ($5,367.54) and US$55.25 per ounce, respectively.
No revised production target has yet been determined for the larger resource.
The optimised study will update metal prices, concentrate payabilities, processing costs, plant ramp-up assumptions, and capital and operating cost estimates.
The processing strategy remains unchanged, using cyanide-free flotation to treat gold- and silver-dominant material before blending the resulting products into a saleable precious metals concentrate.
Meanwhile, drilling continues at the Emu copper-gold prospect. Follow-up drilling is planned at Mascotte, where Legacy recently began testing newly defined ‘blind’ chargeability targets.
Legacy Minerals is an exploration company focused on gold, silver, copper, and base metals across NSW. Its wider portfolio includes the Bauloora, Rockley, Black Range, Nico Young, Thomson, and Fontenoy projects.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: Legacy Minerals
