Jon Gilligan, President and CEO of Liberty Gold (TSX:LGD; OTCQX:LGDTF), joins me for a comprehensive update on their exploration, development, and derisking work leading to an upcoming Feasibility Study, engineering work streams, permitting, and other future value drivers; with a move towards a construction decision in 2 years at the open-pit, heap leach Black Pine Gold Project in the Great Basin in southeastern Idaho.
We start off reviewing the key metrics from the Pre-Feasibility Study announced on October 10, 2024, but using a $2,000 gold price assumption.
- Open pit, run-of-mine (no crushing) heap leach operation with a one-year construction period and initial capital expenditure of $327 million
- Average annual production of 183 thousand ounces of gold in years 1 to 5 with Life-of-Mine average annual production of 135 thousand ounces of gold
- All-In Sustaining Cost for years 1 to 5 of $1,205 per ounce of gold and LOM AISC of $1,380 per ounce of gold
- $552 million After-Tax Net Present Value (5%) with a 32% After-Tax Internal Rate of Return and a 3.3 year payback at a base case gold price of $2,000 per ounce
- $1.296 billion After-Tax Net Present Value (NPV 5%) with a 62% After-Tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and a 1.5 year payback at spot gold prices of $2,600 per ounce
The economic metrics are obviously much better at current gold prices near $4,000 per ounce, the NPV swells well over $2billion and the IRR goes to triple digits.
The Company is working towards a Feasibility Study as a next key catalyst, but has multiple development and derisking workstreams underway.
Additionally, there is still a lot of room for exploration expansion at the Black Pine Gold Project, where there have been recent news reports announcing additional strong results at the expanding Rangefront Zone, from the ongoing 40,000 meter (“m”) feasibility reverse circulation (“RC”) drill program.
- This exploration program is designed for resource infill and conversion, as well as technical compliance for feasibility and expansion of the resource. There is also some true discovery drilling exploring areas for near-surface mineralization and looking for more potential satellite pits.
- Jon outlines how Rangefront has expanded so much through the focused drilling that it is likely to move up into where the initial few years of mining happen, being strategically located further down the mountain and near the new leach pads.
Jon also provides a detailed roadmap of the timeline of permitting milestones and derisking initiatives in front of the Company over the next 2-3 years through targeted construction and first gold pour. Many of the engineering and permitting workstreams coalesce in late 2027, in tandem with initiatives to execute on the funding package, and these should lead to the construction decision later that year, and then breaking ground in 2028.
Jon outlined the specific factors that lead to the strong current financial health of the company. After a successful capital raise back in April of C$23 million, this was followed by a strategic 9.9% investment by Centerra Gold in September for C$28 million, another $2.2million payment received in October from the sale of the non-core TV Tower copper gold project, and then additional early exercise of warrants. This gives Liberty Gold a solid treasury, and they are now fully funded to advance forward with all the ongoing exploration, development, and derisking work programs at Black Pine moving towards a construction decision in late 2027.
We wrap up having Jon reiterate the Company’s genuine interest in building this project, and highlighting a number of key promotions and additions to their board of directors and management team, boosting both their technical and permitting teams.
If you have any questions for Jon regarding Liberty Gold, the please email me at Shad@kereport.com.
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