TG Metals is looking to step across to near-term gold cashflow with a low-capex heap-leach plan at Van Uden. Pic: Getty Images
- Van Uden study outlines a 250,000tpa heap-leach operation
- A$14.2m pre-production capex targets ~13,630oz of recovered gold
- Delivers A$83.2m in net revenue and A$48.3m in EBITDA over the initial mine life
- Resource extensional drilling and transitional ore could extend the initial mine life
Special Report: TG Metals has put numbers around a low-cost heap-leach path to gold production at Van Uden, with A$14.2m of pre-production capex targeting about 13,630oz over an initial three-year mine life.
TG Metals (ASX:TG6) has modelled a 250,000tpa operation over an initial circa three-year mine life, recovering about 13,630oz of gold at an assumed 90% recovery.
The base case carries pre-production capital of A$14.2m including contingency and an average all-in sustaining cost of A$2,835/oz.
It generates A$83.2m in life-of-mine net revenue after state and private royalties, A$48.3m in EBITDA and A$32.9m in pre-tax project cashflow after life-of-mine capital.
The study estimates a pre-tax NPV of A$26.8m, a pre-tax IRR of 121.7% and a 12.1-month payback from first production.
Those figures use a gold price of US$4,400/oz and an AUD/USD exchange rate of 0.70.
A shallow, simple start
The study is based on Van Uden’s 1.053Mt laterite resource grading 0.52g/t Au for 17,700oz, which is 89.8% Indicated and 10.2% Inferred. The scheduled feed is 85% Indicated and 15% Inferred.
Its mine plan processes 766,311t at 0.61g/t Au with a strip ratio of just 0.6:1.
The laterite is shallow and considered free dig, meaning drilling and blasting is not expected to be required.
Ore would be crushed, screened, agglomerated and stacked on an on-off heap-leach system, with gold captured on carbon before off-site stripping and refining.
TG Metals’ metallurgical work provides the technical basis for the 90% recovery assumption.
Two completed four-metre column tests returned estimated extraction above 95% before final metal balances, while a third two-metre column remained under leach at 81.3% at the time of the study.
CEO David Selfe said the study provides an on-site route that could generate cashflow while setting up a broader development at Van Uden.
“The Scoping Study results show an excellent on-site processing pathway to production that can generate significant free cashflow in comparison to our market capitalisation at a low upfront capex,” he said.
“In addition, a heap leach operation can easily co-exist with the future larger insitu pit development, potentially providing two income streams from the one Van Uden project area, maximising the available gold resources.”
Forrestania infrastructure adds another angle
Van Uden sits in Forrestania, where established mining and processing infrastructure remains in place.
IGO completed the sale of its former Forrestania Nickel Operation assets to Medallion Metals in March 2026, including the Cosmic Boy processing plant and supporting infrastructure, after nickel production ceased in September 2024.
That regional infrastructure already intersects with TG Metals’ strategy.
In July, the company entered a separate non-binding framework with Medallion covering about 60,000t of Van Uden gold-bearing stockpiles for potential treatment at Cosmic Boy, around 70km south.
Agreed capital charges and operating costs would be recovered first, with remaining pre-tax operating profit split 50:50.
It gives Van Uden two distinct potential early monetisation routes; the on-site laterite heap leach assessed in the new study and off-site treatment of existing stockpiles, although the Medallion arrangement is not yet a binding production outcome.
A 689-hole, ~4,150m aircore program mobilised in September to test laterite targets around the existing resource, with management aiming to potentially double the current laterite resource if drilling is successful.
That program follows earlier auger drilling that served up heap-leach growth upside around Van Uden.
TG Metals has also identified 1.855Mt at 1.05g/t Au for 62,400oz of transitional material as prospective for heap-leach treatment.
Metallurgical testwork is underway before that material can be considered in a future development case.
Other enhancement work includes assessing greater heap heights than the current four-metre assumption and larger-scale heap-leach options.
Next steps
TG Metals is now progressing resource expansion drilling, transitional-material metallurgical testing and project design work.
A works approval and mine development and closure plan are to be prepared and lodged, while a PFS is planned to advance the project towards a potential Ore Reserve.
Early discussions have also begun around non-dilutive financing for the project.
The study says funding in the order of A$15m is likely to be required.
This article was developed in collaboration with TG Metals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
