Novo: Playing With Ore Sorting Numbers
Perhaps the best way of showing how ridiculously cheap the Egina deposits could be mined with the help of ore sorters is to do a quick and dirty calculation based on the current information…
Factors/assumptions:
- Steinert believes Egina gravels could be sorted for $0.26/tonne
- Assuming no more processing needed
- Latest batch of bulk samples (three) contained 337.2 grams of coarse gold
- Fines are excluded since we do not yet have those assays in hand
- Latest batch of bulk samples (three) amounted to 222.22 m3 of material
- Lets assume a mass of 1.7t/m3
Which means:
- Total weight of said bulk samples then comes in at 222.22*1.7 t = 377.8 tonnes.
- Cost of sorting said bulk samples at $0.26/t would amount to total processing costs of $0.26 * 377.8 = $98.2
- Total value of gold retrieved by the sorters would amount to 337.2/31.1 * $1,470 = $15,938
… Which in turn means that it would cost Novo $98.2 to sort and capture gold worth $15,938
… Which in turn means that mining, screening and reclamation etc needs to come in at a whooping $41.9/tonne before the operation just breaks even.
So what does it cost to screen 1 tonne? … Peanuts I would imagine.
What does it cost for a continuous miner to gobble up 1 tonne? … Peanuts I would imagine.
What does it cost to rehabilitate the arid surface? No idea.
… Food for thought
In Quinton’s own words:
(Note: This is not a buy or sell recommendation. This is not investment advice and I am not a geologist. This article is highly speculative, forward looking and I can’t guarantee accuracy. Always do your own due diligence. I own a lot of shares of Novo Resources which I have bought in the open market and am thus biased. Novo is a passive banner sponsor on my site. )
Best regards,
The Hedgeless Horseman
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