MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (Fidencio Casillas, Energy Analytics Institute, 16.Jan.2025) — GoGold Resources Inc. released results of its Feasibility Study (FS) at its Los Ricos South (LRS) project in Jalisco State, Mexico.
The FS includes a re-engineered 2,000 tonne per day (t/d) underground mine plan compared to the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) which was released in Sep. 2023 and incorporates an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), GoGold announced 16 Jan. 2025 in an official statement.
“This FS has a very high level of detail, exceeding the normal feasibility study level of detail in the process plant design. Our expectation is that we will receive a positive outcome on our permit application for our underground mine by the end of March 2025,” GoGold president and CEO Brad Langille said in the statement.
“The company has a strong balance sheet and we are in advanced discussions with prospective lenders for the remaining financing required for construction. With this detailed study and once we have obtained the permit, we should be able to formally make a construction decision and begin building the mine,” Langille said.
Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC completed the design and cost estimates for the process plant. The exercise also included a Front-End Engineering & Design (FEED) component which provided more engineering detail on key vendor supply packages. This component is beyond the normal FS level of detail and adds greater technical and engineering data to these specific aspects of the plant design. The FEED component is expected to allow for a quicker transition to the detailed engineering and field execution phases in the future.
Highlights of the FS, with Base Case and a silver price of US$26.80/oz, gold price of US$2,330/oz and copper price of US$4.00/lb follows:
- After-Tax net present value (NPV) (using a discount rate of 5%) of $355mn with an After-Tax IRR of 28% (Base Case);
- At spot metal silver price of $30/oz and gold price of $2,608/oz, NPV (using a discount rate of 5%) of $469mn with an After-Tax IRR of 34%;
- 15-year mine life producing a total of 80mn payable silver equivalent ounces (AgEq), consisting of 41mn silver ounces, 424 thousand gold ounces, and 11mn pounds of copper;
- Initial capital costs of $227mn, including $21mn in contingency costs, over an expected two year build, and sustaining capital costs of $100mn over the life of mine (LOM);
- Average operating cash costs of $9.94/oz AgEq, and all in sustaining costs (AISC) of $11.19/oz AgEq over first 5 years of production, with average AISC of $12.32/oz AgEq over the underground mine life;
- Average annual production of 7.3 million AgEq oz over first 5 years;
- Successful conversion of Mineral Resources to Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves totaling 10.2mn tonnes grading 276 g/t AgEq containing 91mn ounces AgEq, including 7.5mn underground tonnes grading 326 g/t AgEq;
- Average underground mining width of 11m using bulk mining method of longitudinal sub-level long-hole mining;
“We have the support of the local community for the project and have begun the process of building our mining and technical services team. Looking beyond the imminent construction, we also see the opportunities for more near mine exploration with a focus on growing more high grade underground resources in Los Ricos South and also look to advance Los Ricos North in 2025,” Langille said.
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By Fidencio Casillas reporting from Mexico City. © 2025 Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.
