Legacy Minerals (ASX:LGM) is progressing an expanded stage two Scoping Study for the Mt Carrington Gold-Silver Project in New South Wales, after completing a metallurgical bridging study.
Mining-focused engineering and consultancy Ausenco has been engaged to complete the expanding Scoping Study, which will evaluate the entire 1.2 million ounce gold-equivalent resource and the flotation processing to maximise recoveries from polymetallic deposits.
The stage two Scoping Study is expected to be completed in early Q1 2026.
Legacy reports stage one, which only evaluated 200,000 ounces of the project’s resource, highlighted a net present value of $404 million, at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,709 per ounce and low capital expenditure.
The gold price was sitting at US$4,047 ($6,217) an ounce at the time of writing.
Mt Carrington is also expected to produce 172,600 ounces of gold over a five and a half-year period. The stage one study also revealed an average gold produce of 31,400 ounces per year, with 83% gold recovery.
This news comes after the bridging study outlined processing methods that maximise metallurgical recovery of precious metals with reasonable payability being recognised as the key enabler to unlock revenue from the silver-dominant deposits.
Legacy Minerals says this represents an improvement on Mt Carrington’s previous operations, where historical production focused on carbon-in-leach processing methods.
The study also notes that using flotation to produce a precious metal concentrate is expected to realise the highest value from gold- and silver-dominant deposits.
CEO Christopher Byrne says the study provides clear technical guidance to date on how the gold-silver system should be developed and confirms potential for growth.
“The study cuts through years of competing development concepts and demonstrates that a streamlined, precious-metals-focused flowsheet represents the most robust and economically attractive development route for the project while providing flexibility to add additional floatation circuits when appropriate in the future to potentially recover copper and zinc,” Byrne says.
“Overall, the study positions Mt Carrington as a simplified, lower-risk and higher value development opportunity. The outcomes are very favourable for our shareholders and significantly strengthen the foundation to advance Mt Carrington towards becoming a modern mining and processing operation.”
Byrne notes coupled with the company’s ongoing exploration drilling, Legacy looks forward to advancing Mt Carrington into the next stage.
The Mt Carrington Project, covering 390km2, encompasses substantial infrastructure including a tailings dam, grid easements, a water source, a site office, accommodation, a core shed and core processing facilities.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Legacy Minerals
