Ariana values Dokwe Gold Project’s profitability to US$160m

UNITED Kingdom-based miner, Ariana Resources Plc (Ariana) has valued its Dokwe Gold Project’s profitability at US$160 million following updated assessments, it has been revealed.

In a recent presentation to shareholders, Ariana revealed that its Dokwe Gold Project, located in the Tsholotsho district, 110km west and northwest of Bulawayo, had a net present value (NPV) of US$160 million.

NPV is defined as a financial tool used to evaluate the profitability of an investment or project by comparing the present value of future cash flows to the initial investment cost.

The new assessments have also projected the Dokwe Gold Project to have capacity to generate 60 000 ounces of the yellow mineral per annum.

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In justifying the NPV US$160 million valuation, Ariana said it was based on a: “2024 revised economic model based on the 2022 PFS [pre-feasibility study] which included the Dokwe North deposit only, excluding a 0,5% net smelter return royalty to Yataghan Investments (Pvt) Ltd.”

The valuation was based off an assumed gold price of US$2 000 per ounce.

“Further revisions to the PFS will commence following the completion of a revised Reserve for Dokwe North and Central,” Ariana added.

With this NPV, Ariana has raised its initial capital requirement for developing its Dokwe Gold Project to US$82 million, from an initial assessment of US$80 million.

Ariana said there were multiple opportunities to improve project economics by increasing output to 100 000 ounces of gold production per year over a mine life of more than 10 years.

“Significant exploration opportunity remains in the vicinity of Dokwe North and Central to grow the Project’s global resource base,” the miner said.

“One thousand two hundred and 22 metres of largely PQ/HQ diamond drilling was completed between late 2023 and early 2024, which confirmed a number of successful historical results across both deposits.”

This assessment is based off current gold resources of 1,4 million ounces sitting within the optimised pit shells at Dokwe North and Central within the project.

“Near-term exploration activities to focus on as yet untested gold geochemical anomalies, along with extensions of known structures identified in geophysics,” Ariana said.

“Multiple untested targets occur elsewhere across the wider project area around Dokwe North, notably at Dokwe Central, Siduli Pan and Dokwe South.”

The miner said that in 1980, Zimbabwe produced more gold than Western Australia (WA), but due to multi-decade under-investment in exploration, WA was the dominant producer today.

“The Zimbabwe Craton holds a similar geological endowment to the Yilgarn Craton in WA. Profitable gold mining operations in Zimbabwe are evidenced by groups, including Caledonia Mining, among others,” Ariana said.

“Zimbabwe hosts several major operations for other commodities such as PGE’s and lithium, with several major international companies present.

“Ariana has ‘early-mover’ advantage in Zimbabwe, providing exposure to significant mineral resource development opportunities.”-newsd