Carnavale Resources’ Swiftsure Gold Project promises robust financials and expansion opportunities

Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV) managing director Humphrey Hale sits down with Proactive’s Jonathan Jackson to discuss the maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) and scoping study for the Swiftsure deposit within the Kookynie Gold Project, 60 kilometres south of Leonora in Western Australia. The study explored multiple mining scenarios, identifying the most profitable approach as a combination of compact open pit and underground development.
The initial Swiftsure MRE reveals 457,000 tonnes at a grade of 5.8 g/t for 85,000 ounces of gold. This includes a particularly high-grade zone containing approximately 53,000 ounces at 31.2 g/t.
Notably, 61% of this resource is classified in the indicated category. The resource remains open at depth and along strike, suggesting further potential for expansion. Recent discoveries at the Tiptoe and Valiant sites, along with other targets, present additional opportunities for increasing the resource at the Kookynie Project.
The scoping study demonstrates robust financial metrics and competitive costs, utilising conservative mining parameters and current cost assumptions based on a gold price of A$3,500 per ounce. The pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV8) is approximately A$91 million with an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 192%. The undiscounted cash flow stands at approximately A$105 million.
This study indicates a total pre-production capital requirement of around $3 million, with a maximum drawdown of $12.9 million in the eighth month of operations. The initial mine life is projected to be 32 months, with the capital payback period occurring within 14 months of operations commencing.
The initial mine production target, including mine dilution, is about 421,000 tonnes at 4.6 g/t for 62,000 ounces. During the payback period, 93% of the resources extracted from the open pit are classified as indicated. The total all-in cost of production is estimated at approximately A$1,730 per ounce recovered, with 56% of production sourced from the open pit.
Situated within trucking distance of several operational gold processing plants in the Eastern Goldfields, the Kookynie Project offers multiple monetisation strategies. Carnavale is evaluating the project's economics based on a contract operator and toll treatment operation to simplify the process.
Hale expressed optimism about the project's high-grade characteristics and future exploration potential, emphasising the promising financial outlook and significant exploration upside.
#ProactiveInvestors #CarnavaleResources #ASX #KookynieGoldProject #SwiftsureDeposit #MiningNews #GoldMining #WesternAustralia #MineralResourceEstimate #ScopingStudy #GoldProduction #Exploration #MiningEconomics #HighGradeGold #GoldProjectDevelopment #ResourceExpansion #GoldPrice #MiningIndustry #FinancialHighlights #GoldProcessing #MiningOperations #GoldExploration
#invest #investing #investment #investor #stockmarket #stocks #stock #stockmarketnews