Halls Creek JV study puts silver on the menu

Detailed summary

AuKing's WA joint venture is targeting PFS completion in the first half of 2028. ... Read More The post Halls Creek JV study puts silver on the menu appeared first on Stockhead.

“Make it a three-course meal. Copper and zinc for the mains, then a bit of silver for dessert.” Pic: Getty Images

Special Report: An updated scoping study of AuKing Mining’s Halls Creek joint venture with Cobalt Blue has outlined an 11-year copper-zinc-silver operation built around one shared processing plant.

The proposed development in Western Australia’s Kimberley would begin with open-cut mining at Onedin before moving to underground mining at Sandiego, with silver recovery included for the first time.

Auking Mining (ASX:AKN) holds 49% of Halls Creek, previously known as Koongie Park, alongside joint venture partner Cobalt Blue Holdings (ASX:COB), which completed the study.

The study estimates a pre-tax net present value of A$317m at a 10% discount rate, a 47% pre-tax internal rate of return and A$681m in pre-tax free cash flow over the mine life, all on a 100% project basis.

Initial capital is estimated at A$75m, with payback about three years from first production.

The staged plan assumes cash flow from Onedin would cover A$116m of subsequent development expenditure, with total development and sustaining costs estimated at A$197m.

The revised plan replaces the previously proposed Sandiego flotation concentrator with a common heap-leach processing pathway.

Sandiego material would be trucked to Onedin and placed on a separate leach pad. Solutions from both deposits would then pass through the same recovery plant to produce silver doré, copper cathode and zinc oxide.

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