Troy Resources has received approval for the development of the Smarts underground gold deposit at its 100%-owned Karouni project in Guyana.
Received from the Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC), the approval is subject to the review of all plans and reports for each development phase of the mine.
Troy is currently in the process of producing various reports. These include a geotechnical report to support the underground development up to the first phase and a pre-feasibility study for ore reserve declaration.
Troy is also working on CapEx requirements for the underground development and proposed schedules for the mine development.
Troy managing director Ken Nilsson said: “Troy is delighted to have received the first-ever approval for an underground mine development in Guyana.
“The ongoing support of the GGMC is greatly appreciated.”
According to the current preferred plan, the mine development involves bulk mining of the deposit to maximise gold production.
Earlier, Troy said that a two-stage development approach being considered to reduce the need for capital expenditure.
This involves the initial development of a relatively short drive of approximately 800m to the first ore zone of approximately 30,000oz, revenue from the sale of which will be used to fund further development.
Last month, Troy Resources secured tenements over targets adjacent to the Karouni Gold Project, over the past six to eight months.
The company considers these tenements to be highly prospective for large-scale gold discovery.