West Australian explorer Ausgold has raised production expectations at its 100%-owned Katanning gold project after a scoping study indicated the viability of a 5Mtpa operation, up from the 3Mtpa rate assessed in its PFS last year.
The new study outlined average production of 155,000ozpa over the first six years and 136,000ozpa over 10 years, compared to the PFS figure of 105,000ozpa. It forecast pre-tax NPV at 5% of $A819M, IRR of 46% and payback period of 20 months.
The scoping study will be the basis for a DFS due for completion in the Dec 2023 qtr.