PRECIOUS METALS

PC Gold gets Pine Creek approval

ASHLEY Pattison’s privately held PC Gold is on track to become a new Australian gold producer, with the Northern Territory government giving its development plans the tick.

Union Reefs was PC's preferred milling solution

Union Reefs was PC's preferred milling solution

Located in the Pine Creek region, some 200km south-east of Darwin, Spring Hill is expected to recover a modest 102,000 ounces over 13 months by redeveloping an historical mining area. 
 
Operations are targeted to begin later this year, with some 30 jobs expected to be supported.
 
Pattison, who is PC's major shareholder and executive chair, said Spring Hill was located within the largest mining leases in the NT. It expires in 2025.
 
The mining lease was originally granted to Tennant Creek Gold in 2007 and sits with in a wider exploration lease also owned by PC.
 
"Stage one of the project is seen as a very important stepping stone to a much longer mine life," Pattison said.
 
Spring Hill has a resource of 359,000oz using a 0.7 gram per tonne cut-off, however some of the resources are excluded from the mine plan due to an exclusion zone that exists to protect the threatened ghost bat.
 
The development, which builds on work completed 20 years ago, will develop the Hong Kong 1 and 3, and East Zone pits in the southern area of the lease, recovering oxide ore that it planned to truck to Agnico Eagle's suspended Union Reefs mill.
 
The pits will be developed either to 30m or 90m 
 
Future stages will examine further open pit mining or underground mining.
 
All PC needs to do is pay A$1.47 million in security bonds to start work.
 
Mines minister Nicole Manison has signed off on the Mining Management Act requirements, and all the environmental requirements from the NT Environmental Protection Authority, and the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
 
"Our resources industry is one of the biggest contributors to the NT economy and Spring Hill mine is now the sixth significant mine approved in the last two years," she said.
 
Other approvals include Core Lithium's Finniss lithium mine, Nathan River Resources' namesake iron ore operation, and KGL Resources' Jervois copper project.
 
Pattison originally secured Spring Hill and the Dundas gold project in Western Australia from Thor Mining in 2015 for a $3.5 million purchase price. 
 
A $6-14 royalty was also agreed, depending on the gold price, and at current levels above $1500/oz, TM will pay Thor at the upper level.
 
Additionally, after sale, PC will pay royalties of $6 per ounce for gold sold for $1500/oz and more, and $14/oz for gold sold for amounts over $1500/oz - a potential $1.4 million payday.
 
Pattison is a senior mining executive with a corporate finance background, who was previously with Deloitte, Carmichael Capital Markets, and Peruvian copper and gold producer Minera Gold.
 
He is non-executive chair of Industrial Minerals and a non-executive director at Firebird Metals.
 
Pattison is joined at PC Gold by technical director Robert Jewson and operations director Roger Jackson.

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