Newcore Gold has taken another major step in advancing its flagship Enchi Gold Project in Ghana, launching a pre-feasibility study (PFS) that aims to strengthen the project’s economics and refine development plans.
The study, led by Lycopodium Minerals Canada of Toronto, is scheduled for completion by the end of the first half of 2026.
Building on a 2024 preliminary economic assessment (PEA), the study will integrate a comprehensive suite of fieldwork and laboratory data gathered throughout 2024 and 2025.
This broad technical program includes approximately 30,000 metres of additional drilling, metallurgical tests, hydrogeological assessments, and geotechnical studies.
These efforts are designed to enhance the geological model and refine processing parameters to optimise gold recovery and project value.
The Enchi Gold Project currently hosts an indicated mineral resource of 743,500 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.55 grams per tonne (g/t), and an inferred resource of 972,000 ounces at 0.65 g/t.
Located on a 248-square-kilometre land package in Ghana’s prolific Bibiani Shear Zone, Enchi sits within a district that hosts multiple deposits exceeding five million ounces each.
An open-pit mining approach, combined with a milling and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing flowsheet, has been selected to significantly improve project economics.
Metallurgical testwork conducted in recent months has shown gold recoveries ranging from 89.4 per cent to 97.7 per cent, outperforming the 75–85 per cent recovery rates previously assumed under a heap leach strategy.
Lycopodium will focus on process plant design and cost estimation, maintaining continuity from its involvement in the PEA.
The study partners’ respective roles are clearly defined: Fuse Advisors will undertake mine engineering and planning; Knight Piesold will lead tailings storage and hydrogeological studies; and DRA Global will contribute to resource and geotechnical modelling.
Newcore president and CEO Luke Alexander said: “Advancing our Enchi Gold Project to the PFS stage represents an important milestone for the company as we continue to unlock the value of our district-scale project.
“We are fully funded to complete the PFS, which is supported by extensive technical fieldwork, testwork and drilling completed in 2024 and 2025.
“A key component of the work completed in advance of commissioning the PFS was optimisation work aimed at identifying the best processing path that maximises project value and economics in a gold price environment that has strengthened significantly since completion of the 2024 PEA.”
Alexander explained that metallurgical testing and optimisation efforts were aimed at evaluating different processing options to boost gold recovery and generate greater value for shareholders.
He said the results confirmed that a conventional milling and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing method offered superior recoveries, improved project economics, and reduced technical risk, making it the preferred development route.
According to Alexander, this next phase will further de-risk the project and advance its progress as Newcore works to fully realise the potential of the Enchi Gold Project in Ghana.