Calidus to boost Warrawoona output with further acquisitions

Blue Spec, located 70 kilometres from Warrawoona, is forecast to lift Warrawoona’s gold output to 807,000 ounces over an eight-year mine life.

This contrasts with the 658,000 ounces projected in the feasibility study (FS).

Calidus plans to treat Blue Spec through the Warrawoona’s sulphide circuit and inject a further $1.5 million in additional capital to increase throughput from 100,000 tonnes a year to 150,000 tonnes a year.

The company’s production at Blue Spec will peak at 139,000 ounces, up from the 105,000 ounces predicted in the FS.

Calidus managing director Dave Reeves said the integration of Blue Spec into Warrawoona allowed the company to increase production without significant changes to infrastructure or the current mining plan at Warrawoona.

“The fully-funded Warrawoona project includes a conventional 2.4 (million tonnes a year carbon-in-leach) processing plant plus an additional standalone 100,000 (million tonnes a year) sulphide plant initially planned for treatment of Copenhagen, which is also a high-grade satellite deposit,” Reeves said.

“The modular nature of the sulphide plant allows us to increase its capacity to 150,000 (tonnes a year) to accommodate treatment of Blue Spec for a relatively minor increase in (capital expenditure).

“This study demonstrates the big growth potential of our strategy to establish a new regional gold production hub in the East Pilbara, fed by Warrawoona and satellite deposits.”

Reeves described the Blue Spec project as one of the highest grade gold deposits in Australia upon announcing the acquisition in September 2020.

Calidus will pay $5 million to Novo by the end of this month, in addition to issuing 13.3 million shares by April.

Reeves perceived more opportunities in other “stranded assets in the region” where a standalone plant can’t be afforded.

“We will continue to look for value-accretive opportunities that supplement our current robust eight-year mine life,” he concluded.