Prodigy Gold has confirmed the commercial viability of its Hyperion gold deposit in the Northern Territory, following a scoping study.
Located in the proven Tanami North project area, the scoping study outlines a straightforward mining operation with a low initial capital cost of just A$24 million.
The strategy focuses on establishing three multi-staged conventional open pits to a depth of 180 metres, completely bypassing complex underground mining in its initial phase.
The standalone project is underpinned by an updated mineral resource estimate of 9.8 million tonnes at 1.4 grams per tonne of gold, containing 454,000 ounces.
Prodigy targets a life-of-mine production profile, extracting 4.2 million tonnes of ore at a higher grade of 1.9 grams per tonne to recover roughly 230,000 ounces of gold.
Mining is scheduled to run for four years, with processing extended over five years.
Financially, the scoping study highlights excellent resilience at current gold prices. Using a base case gold price of AU$4,250 per ounce, the project generates a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of AU$107 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 63 per cent, with a capital payback period of 20 months.
Should gold prices hit AU$4,750 per ounce, the project’s economics surge to an NPV of AU$192 million and a stellar IRR of 106 per cent, reducing payback to just 13 months. Life-of-mine all-in sustaining costs (AISC) are modelled at approximately AU$3,400 per ounce.
Prodigy Gold Managing Director Mark Edwards said: “The key is simplicity – this is not an overly complicated deposit and there is no complex processing pathway required to extract the gold.
“Mineralisation is continuous, predictable and sits in a geometry that is well suited to conventional open pit mining.
“That’s exactly the encouragement needed at this stage and highlights the growth opportunity for the development of this deposit.”
Subject to environmental approvals, an Aboriginal Land Rights Act mining agreement with Traditional Owners, and finalising toll-processing negotiations, first production at Hyperion is slated for early 2028.
The company will now focus on mineral resource growth and increasing investor confidence though targeted drilling programs.
“Our focus is on continuing to build scale and confidence of the Hyperion Gold Deposit,” Edwards said.
“With the right drilling, Hyperion has the potential to grow quickly and position itself as a meaningful development asset in the Tanami Region.
“Prodigy Gold is now well positioned to continue this work on this regionally significant gold deposit.”