GOLD: TriMetals ponders PEA for Gold Springs

NEVADA/UTAH – Vancouver's TriMetals Mining is contemplating the positive preliminary economic assessment for its Gold Springs gold-silver property that straddles the boarder of Nevada and Utah. The PEA suggests a nine-year, 10,000 t/d heap leach project.

The study put a pre-tax net present value (5% discount) of US$162 million on the project with a pre-tax internal rate of return of 57.2%. Low costs are expected: US$614/oz AuEq for cash costs and US$749/oz AuEq for total costs. The costs are calculated using a US$1,300/oz gold price and US$21/oz silver price with contract mining.

Pre-production capital estimates include an open pit mine, Merrill-Crowe plant and surface infrastructure total US$58 million for the 10,000-t/d option, referred to in the PEA as Case 4. Project payback would occur at 1.5 years in the pre-tax scenario or 2.0 years in the after tax scenario. The project would be designed with future expansion in mind.

The mineral resource numbers for the Gold Springs project are posted on TriMetals' website, soamsilver.com.