Wilton hopes to start production at Ciemas gold project in 4Q
Friday, February 10 2017 - 01:18 AM WIB
SGX-listed Wilton Resources Corporation Limited said during the second quarter of fiscal year 2017 (2QFY17), the Group continued with exploration, evaluation and development activities of its Mining Permits at the Ciemas Gold Project in West Java, through the pursuit of three programs comprising of pilot production program, production program and exploration program.
Activities on each of the programs in 2QFY17 are set out below.
a) Pilot Production Program
This program is for the development of an initial pilot production plant with a production capacity of 300 tons per day (tpd) of ore. The initial stage of production is aimed to process ore from the Group?s Cibak and Cipancar prospects. The mining engineering design for the supply of ore to the pilot plant has adopted the underground mining method, with prospecting and mining running in parallel.
The preliminary pilot plant process engineering design, the mining engineering design and tailings storage facilities engineering design have been completed. The Detailed Engineering Design (DED) is currently being finalized. Some delays have occurred due to a revision made to the ultimate processing flow route. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the construction of the pilot plant is now scheduled to commence in 3QFY17, with production expected to commence in 4QFY17.
While finalizing the DED, the near-term pilot production program may proceed by first focusing on the oxide ore. Wilton is in discussions with a potential partner to collaborate on this and is considering a pool leaching facility to treat the oxide ore. Further updates on this will be made as and when appropriate.
b) Production Program
The intention of the Production Program is to evaluate the Group?s main mining operation and processing plant for its Pasir Manggu, Cikadu, Sekolah and Cibatu prospect areas (collectively, the ?4 Prospects?), with a production capacity of 1500 tpd, as recommended by the Group?s independent consultants.
Following the initial scoping study by Mancala, the Group is progressing towards the completion of a feasibility study on the project. Some elements of the feasibility study have already been completed, including metallurgical test work, processing plant engineering design and geotechnical investigation. The feasibility study, together with an estimate of Ore Reserves is underway. The completion date of the Feasibility Studies has been delayed to 4QFY17 due to priority being given to the Pilot Production Program and the near-term pool leaching plant.
c) Exploration Program
The Group has made good progress on its Exploration Program. On 2 February 2017, it announced a maiden estimate of Mineral Resources in respect of the Cibak and Cipancar Prospects; areas of the Ciemas Gold Project for which Mineral Resources had not previously been reported. As part of this estimate of new resources, the company?s independent consultant, SRK Consulting China Limited (SRK), conducted a site inspection and reviewed the historical data from 33 trenches carried out by Terrex Resources NL during 1992 to 1994 and PT Meekatharra Minerals during 1996 to 1998, as well as data from 31 shafts developed by the Company recently at Cibak and Cipancar Prospects. Based on the integrated database, SRK estimated that, at a gold cut-off grade of 2.5 grams per ton (?g/t?), the Cibak and Cipancar Prospects contain approximately 1.1 million tons (?Mt?) of Inferred Resources with an average grade of about 5.6 g/t of gold. The Mineral Resource statement for the Cibak and Cipancar Prospects.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak