Dateline Resources is closing in on completion of its Colosseum gold feasibility study in California, boosted by strong metallurgical results. Its work appears perfectly timed as the gold price surged to an all-time high of US$4,690 (A$7012) an ounce this morning.
The all-important metallurgical leach work has confirmed the recovery assumptions of 91 to 92 per cent at a 106-micron grind size used in the scoping study 9 months ago and has added confidence to a conventional carbon-in-leach processing route.
Excavation has uncovered intact leach tank footings, mill foundations and crusher infrastructure at Dateline’s Colosseum gold project in California, now being assessed for reuse in the planned redevelopment.
New geotechnical studies have also identified a more efficient open pit design, with higher initial capital costs more than offset by today’s loftier gold prices compared to those used in the original scoping study.
Dateline says it was able to fast-track the company’s feasibility work and rein in costs by drawing on well-established assumptions from Colosseum’s original mining campaign prior to its 1993 closure, which have now been backed up with the latest findings.
‘Our focus remains firmly on delivering the final stages of the Bankable Feasibility Study.’
Dateline Resources managing director Stephen Baghdadi
The historical gold mine used a standard conventional wet tailings storage facility to contain the fine residual tailings. The planned redevelopment will use an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient dry-stack process. By using a filter press to mechanically remove moisture from the tailings, water can be recycled, reducing water loss in the production process.
Dateline Resources managing director Stephen Baghdadi said: ”The Colosseum project is progressing to plan, with all key workstreams advancing in parallel. It’s business as usual; our focus remains firmly on delivering the final stages of the Bankable Feasibility Study and the construction tasks ahead. The alignment of current results with historic mine performance confirms that Colosseum is a well-understood system, positioning the project for a lower-risk and efficient redevelopment.”
The Colosseum BFS remains on track for completion in the first quarter of 2026. A previous scoping study released 9 months ago outlined a potentially solid mining operation forecasting production of 635,000 ounces over an initial eight-year mine life. The study also projected net revenues of US$827 million (A$1.245 billion), a net present value of US$550 (A$282 million) and an internal rate of return of 61 per cent.
At that time, the study used a gold price assumption of US$2900 (A$4340) per ounce. However, wind the clock forward and, with prices surging today to all -time highs of $US4690 ($A7012) for an ounce of the yellow metal, the economics of the project look set to be supercharged.
