Besra Gold stays on path to complete Jugan bankable feasibility study

• Besra Gold de-risking key workstreams for Jugan gold project bankable feasibility study
• Core holes completed for metallurgical testing including assessment of alternative processing route
• Pilot plant now construction ready with earthworks to start on renewal of mining licence

Special Report: Besra Gold continues to de-risk key workstreams required to complete the bankable feasibility study for its Jugan project within the Bau gold field in Sarawak, Malaysia.

These include metallurgical testwork, trialling alternative processing techniques, geotechnical assessment and tailings management studies, hydrogeological ground water studies, an update to the Jugan resource estimate and pilot plant commencement.

Besra Gold (ASX:BEZ) subsidiary North Borneo Gold Sdn Bhd managing director Matthew Antill said the company’s drilling program had made excellent progress in sourcing core required for the key technical disciplines that underpin the BFS critical path workstreams.

“The pilot plant is essentially construction-ready, with commencement of earthworks contingent only on the renewal of ML 05/2012/1D,” he added.

“Once granted, we anticipate a rapid mobilisation and completion of earthworks within four months, followed by a seven-month construction phase.

“Importantly, our in-country operations have been supported throughout the recent changes in board composition which have been seamless in respect of NBG’s operational activities.”

Work streams

As part of further derisking and strengthening the basis for the Jugan BFS assumptions, the company has completed three fully cored metallurgical drillholes totalling 715m.

Core from two, 300m down-dip holes have been dispatched to ALS Laboratories in Perth for advanced metallurgical test work.

Core from third hole, drilled to 115m, has been sent to Minefill Services in Newcastle, NSW, for tailings characterisation including paste fill trials to support design considerations for potential underground mining operations.

In parallel, selected core intervals are being sent to Dundee Technologies in Canada to evaluate an alternative, patented processing route to conventional pressure oxidisation.

This pyrolysis-based technology targets beneficiation of concentrate in order to produce on-site doré, while simultaneously converting arsenic-bearing tailings into a stable, vitrified (glass-based) form.

Should this be proven viable, the process could de-risk the development pathway at Jugan by providing additional, meaningful environmental and social benefits.

BEZ also progressed geotechnical drilling – a key input for BFS mine planning – following the deployment a second drill rig.

Nine of 11 holes have been completed. The program is obtaining representative core samples to determine geotechnical design parameters for both open-pit and underground mine plan configurations.

Meanwhile, planning has started for hydrogeological investigations at Jugan to estimate water inflows associated with the proposed open-pit and underground mine developments.

This is aimed at quantifying the dewatering requirements for future mining operations and developing a robust understanding of the potential impacts on the local aquifer system for both the open-pit and underground components.

Jugan project

Jugan is part of the broader Bau Corridor goldfield in southwestern Sarawak, a Malaysian state on the island of Borneo.

Bau lies within the arcuate Borneo metalliferous belt, known for its mesothermal to epithermal gold mineralisation, often associated with antimony, arsenic and sulphide minerals.

The project is a historical open pit operation though it is currently expected to be developed through a combined open-pit and underground extension.

This hybrid design provides multiple potential advantages such as the use of smaller open pits at surface to reduce the risk of pit inundation during extreme weather events, reducing the strip ratio via underground extraction, which also facilitates access to deeper mineralisation not otherwise economically accessible through open cut means.

Jugan currently has a resource of 13.5Mt at 1.7g/t, or 721,000oz of contained gold, with 89% contained within the higher confidence measured and indicated categories.

This article was developed in collaboration with Besra Gold, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.