"A decision on when/how is yet to be done ?
Of course but were you asking whether there will one day be a mine?
My answer to that is a definite Yes.
Almost one & half million ounces where the average grade is about 8 grams per ton means that it is very economical even with today's metal prices.
Many mines are expected to go to production, thought I doubt it today, with half the gold per ton of EAG's.
The unknown answer is to when.
The company could build a small mine and operate it for many years, that means they could start the process now.
OR they are waiting to do further exploration with the hope that in a couple of years they will define a resource twice as large. BUT with today's financing that means one has to have the capital to drill more. The source to cash for drilling is going into debt or share dillution.
Neither is a plesantly palatible situation. The only way either one would be followed IF the company, more particular it's geologists, are certain that it is in company's interest to finance more drilling.
In an earlier posting I said that the road to a mine is closer to 5 years away.
My reasoning:
Actual mine construction can take under two years if there is reasonable transportation access and not too costly access to power.
But what many forget is that the actual construction is a smaller part, time wise. The problem here is with permitting.
Many a project looks good on paper but goes into oblivion because of some bureaucratic problem. The problems are with local communities who could literally veto a project or the company goes about in the wrong way and designs a project that could do serious pollution to the region ( mercury commonly comes to mind with gold mines), a definite death. Environmentallists are a powerfull lobby.
Ed.
