Environmental Scoping Report Approved for Tunkillia Gold-Silver Project in Australia

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 7, Barton Gold Holdings announced that the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining has approved the Environmental Scoping Report for its Tunkillia gold-silver project. The approved report formally defines the scope of environmental studies, modeling, community engagement, and other work required for subsequent development approvals, and serves as the formal working basis for Tunkillia's future mining lease and development approval processes.

Barton has already undertaken preliminary work with the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining to identify stakeholders, social and environmental risks, and other approval matters associated with the project development. Following the approval of the Environmental Scoping Report, the relevant environmental investigations, modeling, and community engagement programs will continue to be implemented in accordance with the defined scope. The company plans to submit a Mining Lease application after completing the pre-feasibility study and ore reserve work.

Approximately 58,000 meters of resource upgrade drilling has been completed at Tunkillia to date. Barton is consolidating final assay results and progressing a new JORC gold and silver mineral resource estimate update, followed by plans to publish the project's ore reserves and pre-feasibility study (PFS) in the first quarter of 2027, with the mining lease application to be submitted after the completion of these work streams.

Tunkillia is located approximately 70 kilometers south of Tarcoola in South Australia, with a planned development concept comprising large-scale open-pit mining plus gravity concentration plus a CIL (carbon-in-leach) processing plant. Existing project data from Barton indicates that Tunkillia hosts approximately 1.6 million ounces of gold and 3.1 million ounces of silver in JORC mineral resources, with mineralization primarily concentrated in the Area 223 deposit. The project area covers more than 30 kilometers of strike extent across the Yerda and Yarlbrinda shear zones.

The optimization scoping study completed in May 2025 determined that the project proposes a 5 million tonnes per annum ore processing facility, with initial capital expenditure of approximately A$399 million and planned average annual production of approximately 120,000 ounces of gold and 250,000 ounces of silver. The study adopts an open-pit mining approach with a gravity concentration plus CIL process flowsheet, with the central high-grade zone of Area 223 planned as the "Starter" pit for initial mining.

The model for this initial mining area indicates an average mill feed gold grade of approximately 1.19 grams per tonne, with planned production of approximately 206,000 ounces of gold and 490,000 ounces of silver over the initial approximately 13 months. Subsequently, the S1 and S2 pits are expected to produce a combined approximately 365,000 ounces of gold and 923,000 ounces of silver over the first 27 months. These figures are derived from the 2025 optimization scoping study and currently remain project planning parameters; the final development scale will be subject to subsequent resource updates, the pre-feasibility study, and mining approval outcomes.

Upcoming project milestones include completing remaining drill hole assays, updating gold and silver mineral resources, preparing ore reserves and the pre-feasibility study, and continuing environmental studies and community engagement programs. Barton plans to advance the mining lease application following the release of the PFS and ore reserves in the first quarter of 2027.