King of the Hills Development Project (click to enlarge image) Red 5’s 100%-owned King of the Hills Gold Mine is located 80km south of the Company’s Darlot Gold Mine and 28km north of the town of Leonora in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
The planned King of the Hills Project will be Australia's next major gold mine.
Since Red 5 commenced mining at King of the Hills in January 2018, the Company has identified outstanding potential to establish a stand-alone bulk open pit and underground mining and processing operation, with a current Mineral Resource of 4.1 million ounces of gold and Ore Reserve of 2.4 million ounces of gold positioning KOTH as one of the top ten largest Reserve-endowed gold mines in Australia.
Red 5 completed a Final Feasibility Study (FFS) for a standalone bulk mining and processing operation at KOTH in September 2020, confirming the Project’s potential to be a significant near-term, high-margin gold development project, with opportunities for future growth. Based on the FFS results, the Project will provide robust financial returns from a long-life, large open pit and underground mining operation, for a relatively modest capital investment given the scale of operations envisaged.
The estimated $226 million mine development is underpinned by the construction of a 4Mtpa processing plant, fed by the large open pit and underground mine at KOTH and complemented by a series of smaller satellite pits.
The King of the Hills workforce will total approximately 450 people during construction and 300 during operations, and will deliver strong benefits to the Western Australian economy with estimated taxes of $375 million and royalties of $235 million over the initial 16 year mine life.
With gold production at KOTH due to commence in the June Quarter 2022, Darlot ore will be processed at the KOTH processing plant. The Darlot ore processed will be added to the 4Mtpa of ore proposed to be mined and processed from the KOTH open pit and underground mines.
A Plant Capacity Study completed by Mintrex has confirmed that the KOTH processing plant can process up to 4.7Mtpa of ore without additional capital expenditure.
For further details on Red 5’s development strategy for the King of the Hills Gold Project, refer to the Company’s recent ASX announcements investor presentations
Developing a major new standalone bulk mining and processing operation at King of the Hills
The estimated $226 million mine development is underpinned by the construction of a +4Mtpa processing plant, fed by the large open pit and underground mine at KOTH and complemented by a series of smaller satellite pits.
The King of the Hills workforce will total approximately 450 people during construction and 300 during operations, and will deliver strong benefits to the Western Australian economy with estimated taxes of $375 million and royalties of $235 million over the initial 16 year mine life.
With gold production at KOTH due to commence in the June Quarter 2022, Red 5's dual production hubs have a targetted global production profile in excess of 250,000 ounces of gold a year.
Key Project Features
Two distinct mine production phases over the 16-year mine life:
Mining of the south and north pits. including underground mining in Years 1-4
First six years
Cut-back and mining of the north pit
Years 7 - 16
First Six Years - Mine Profile
FY2023 – FY2028
176,000oz/pa
Average AISC
Life-of-Mine
FY2023 – FY2038
1.24g/t Au
Average production grade
146,000oz/pa
Average production
The Underground ore mined includes 2.4Mt of Inferred Resources (191koz) from the KOTH Underground.
For calculating the Year 1-6 average, Year 1 assumed to commence from FY23 (excludes commissioning and the first 3 months of production ramp-up).
Contained/Payable (oz) & grade (f/t) Annual & Accum. Free Cashflow (Post-tax)
JORC 2012 Mineral Resource and Ore Reserves
Red 5 confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the original market announcements and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the relevant market announcements continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the Competent Persons findings are presented have not been materially modified from the original market announcements.
Red 5 confirms that all the material assumptions underpinning the Final Feasibility Study production targets on the King of the Hills project (see ASX release dated 15 September 2020), or the forecast financial information derived from a production target, in the initial public reports continue to apply and have not materially changed.
