Prodigy Gold (ASX:PRX) has delivered a Scoping Study for the Hyperion Gold Deposit at the Tanami North project area in Australia’s Northern Territory, outlining a technically robust development opportunity and the potential for a mining operation.
Hyperion has a total mineral resource of 9.8 million tonnes @ 1.4 grams per tonne gold for 454,000 ounces, shows continuity over 2km of strike, and remains open along strike and at depth.
Prodigy notes this all serves as a strong foundation for mine planning and development work.
The Scoping Study estimates development in early 2028, subject to all required approvals and a processing agreement.
The study outlines Hyperion as a conventional open pit using a staged mining approach for overall production of around 4.2 million tonnes @ 1.9g/t gold from 260,000 ounces over four years of mining and five years of processing.
It also provides a robust economic valuation for the project with a discounted pre-tax cashflow of around $107 million and an internal rate of return of 63%, considering a gold price of $4,250 per ounce.
Three-pit scenario outlines staged mining approach
The open pit scenario outlines three separate pits, with pit one including two stages of mining the Seuss mineralisation, pit two including one smaller pit for the Tethys mineralisation, and pit three being a four-stage pit mining both Hyperion and Tethys.
Operation costs range from $13.56 per bank cubic metre (BCM) at surface to $28.85 at 200m, with ore costs at $60.31 per tonne which includes processing, hauling, and all administrative costs.
An initial capital requirement of around $24 million is needed to establish the site initially. The company notes that the study does not consider any underground mining, but does outline multiple pathways to increase scale.
Managing Director Mark Edwards says that the development pathway for Hyperion is clear.
“The Scoping Study confirms the deposit has the scale, continuity, and metallurgy properties required to support a straightforward open pit mining operation that could run for several years and deliver a significant amount of value for the company,” Edwards says.
“The key is simplicity — this is not an overly complicated deposit and there is no complex processing pathway required to extract the gold. Mineralisation is continuous, predictable, and sits in a geometry that is well suited to conventional open pit mining.
“Importantly, we are still at early stages in unlocking the full gold bearing system. The resource remains open along strike and at depth, the Tethys lode is strengthening at depth, and the company has only tested a portion of the broader mineralised corridor.”
The Scoping Study assumes that processing will happen at a third-party plant, with Prodigy Gold currently in communication with potential operators in local areas looking to re-establish operations at the Central Tanami Project Joint Venture.
For its next phase of work, Prodigy Gold plans to use targeted drilling programs to focus on mineral resource growth and increasing confidence. Exploration will focus on the inferred mineralisation within the pit designs, as well as extending known mineralisation outside those pits.
Infill drilling will focus on converting inferred resources to indicated, with further extensional drilling testing depth and strike continuity. Metallurgical optimisation work and engineering studies will support the advancement to a Prefeasibility Study (PFS).
Approvals for the granting of the mining lease will continue as well alongside these other activities, with a key focus on the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (ALRA) mining agreement with Traditional Owners and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that is required for mining.
Prodigy Gold is focused on greenfield and brownfield exploration projects and prospects in the multi-million-ounce Tanami Gold Province.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Prodigy Gold
