WIN Metals (ASX:WIN) has returned a Scoping Study for its Butchers Creek Gold Project in Western Australia, confirming the viability of developing a standalone operation.
The study estimates total project funding of $142 million will be required to cover capital and operating costs from the start of plant construction through to the completion of commissioning and the start of gold production.
WIN does not currently have funding in place and will need to undertake further capital raises to fund development following completion of further economic studies and once a final investment decision is made.
It is anticipated this funding will be sourced via a combination of debt and equity, to be secured prior to project construction starting.
“It is also possible that WIN could pursue other value realisation or funding strategies such as forward gold sales, royalty streaming, gold prepay options, a sale, partial sale or joint venture of the project,” the company says.
The project is forecast to provide a pre-tax cash flow of $288 million, a pre-tax net present value at 8% of $143 million, as well as a pre-tax internal rate of return of 25%.
Based on a gold assumption of $5,385 per ounce, the Scoping Study proposes activities for an open pit cutback, underground mine, 600,000 tonne per annum carbon-in-leach processing facility, and infrastructure required. The price of gold was sitting at US$4,131 ($6,330) at time of publishing today (12 November), representing a 57.23% increase for this year to date, according to Trading Economics.
The Scoping Study shows pre-production capex of $113 million and unveils a life of mine (LoM) spanning nine years, processing 3.29 million tonnes @ 2 grams per tonne gold for 200,000 ounces of recoverable gold.
Production is anticipated to return 33,000oz each year in years five to eight of the mine life, peaking with 37,000oz in year five. Across the LoM, average annual gold production is projected at 25,000oz. This includes an initial three-year ramp up as underground operations are established, after which annual output is expected to increase to average 33,000oz for years four to seven.
Production is then forecast to taper in the final year, with annual output of 16,000oz.
Some 96% of gold production during the first four years is to be sourced from indicated resources, with only 4% classified as inferred. WIN says this weighting towards indicated material provides confidence in the project’s ability to repay pre-development capital within the forecast payback period of about 3.5 years.
This ratio remains consistent across the life of mine, with indicated resources contributing 96% to the cumulative production target.
Gold stakes at Butchers Creek
MACA Interquip Mintrex has been engaged to design and quote a 600,000 tonne per annum CIL processing facility. Mined ore will be delivered to a run-of-mine bin and undergo primary and secondary crushing before being transferred to a fine ore storage bin, which regulates consistent plant feed rates.
Ore from the storage bin is then ground in a ball mill to achieve a particle size of 80% passing 75 microns. WIN notes the resulting slurry is processed through cyclones and a vibrating trash screen prior to entering the CIL circuit.
A portion of the cyclone underflow is diverted to a Knelson gravity concentrator for gravity gold recovery. Gravity concentrates are treated in an Acacia leach reactor, while coarse material is recirculated to the ball mill for further grinding.
Gold recovery in the CIL circuit is conducted in six tanks, providing about 24 hours of residence time for efficient cyanide leaching and gold adsorption. The circuit comprises one leach tank followed by five adsorption tanks.
Activated carbon is introduced at the final tank and pumped counter current to the slurry, optimising gold recovery efficiency. Loaded carbon from the first adsorption tank is processed through a pressure elution circuit using hydrochloric acid, hot cyanide, and caustic to strip gold into solution.
Gold from both the elution and Acacia circuits is subsequently recovered via electrowinning onto stainless steel cathodes, followed by calcining and smelting to produce gold doré bars. Plant tailings will be pumped to a dedicated tailings storage facility.
WIN Metals is a mineral explorer that holds 350km2 of tenure in Western Australia’s Southern Goldfields and Kimberley regions.
The company is attending this year’s Noosa Mining Investor Conference, held between 12-14 November 2025, at the Peppers Noosa Resort. WIN Metals is presenting on the last day of the program at 9am AEST. Mining.com.au is a media partner for this year’s event.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: WIN Metals
