TROY Resources Guyana Inc (TRGI), the Australian mining company operating in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni area (Region 7) of Guyana, disclosed yesterday that it has received its Mining Licence, the last document required to commence operations in full at its Smarts and Hicks deposits within its 100%-owned Karouni Gold Project, formerly known as West Omai.Announcing the acquisition, Martin Purvis, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said that as a result of receiving the licence, the company is now in a position to proceed to the advanced stage of project development, including plant construction and pre-strip mining operations.

Purvis disclosed that the issue of the licence also completes the list of conditions and requirements for Troy’s US$30 million Tranche B Facility with financiers Investec Bank. “With the final stage of permitting now complete, and all major components for construction on site, Troy is now only a matter of months away from commencing production at Karouni,” he declared.

He added that the company recognises the support and commitment it had received from the Guyanese Government in processing the licence.

TRGI had received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the Finalised Environmental Permit for construction and operation of its multi-billion-dollar Karouni gold project in Region 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) on January 15 last. Valid for five years, the permit formed an essential requirement for approval and operation of the Mining Licence.

The company disclosed recently that it is looking at an estimated three-year open-pit mine life, producing on average 101,000 ounces of gold a year, barring the first year, in which 104,400 ounces are expected to be produced. The operation will use a conventional carbon-in-leach plant, augmented with gravity gold recovery, treating a minimum of one million tonnes and configured to allow for easy, low-cost expansion at a later date.

The plant would treat about 2.6 million tonnes of material at an average grade of 3.84 g/t gold (grams per ton gold), sourced 68% from Smarts and 32% from the Hicks open pit. The assumed metallurgical recovery is 94%.

Assuming a base-case gold price of $1250/oz and an after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 50.2%, the $84.6M in capital expenditure would be repaid in one and a half years, TGRI had said.

TRGI had, late last year, disclosed that it would be employing some 500 persons during the construction phase of its Karouni Gold Project, with a construction budget of approximately US$87M and an eventual permanent workforce of 250-300.

Once in operation, the Karouni project is expected to provide tertiary scholarships for a minimum of six full-time students at the University of Guyana in disciplines of Civil Engineering/Surveying, Geology, and Environmental Management.

TRGI has also pledged to work closely with the Guyana Mining School and Training Centre Inc to facilitate specialist mining, minerals processing, and trades training programmes for new entrants to the mining industry.