Gold, News & Features, Resource News
New Sumatra low cost gold project eyes peers Way Linggo and Martabe – Junior focus
By Mineweb · April 25, 2012 · 9:02 am · Leave a Comment
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By Lawrence Williams
Talking to Julian Ford, CEO of Sumatra Copper and Gold (ASX: SUM) it is easy to be enthused about the prospects for the company’s gold exploration and development targets along the structures in Western Sumatra which also host G-Resources’ Martabe and Kingsrose’s Way Linggo operations.
For the moment SUM is focusing on bringing the relatively small-scale Tembang project to production with two small open pits and an underground mine – but looking very much to Kingsrose’s highly profitable small Way Linggo gold mine as the guiding light to the way forward in the area. The whole emphasis is on keeping construction and mining costs as low as possible – in the lowest quartile of production costs for gold mining operations anywhere in the world. While it may be doubtful if Kingsrose’s production costs of as little as $200-250 per ounce can be matched, the concept of mine development, initially on a relatively small scale, with minimal capital expenditure and a workforce utilising low-tech equipment, should make it capable of generating strong cash flow right from the start with rapid payback.
