Osino Awards Front-End Engineering Design and Provides Project Implementation Update for the Development-Stage Twin Hills Gold Project, Namibia
Highlights
- Following an extensive selection process, Osino has appointed Lycopodium Minerals (Canada) Limited ("Lycopodium") to lead the Front-End Engineering Design ("FEED") package following the release of the Twin Hills Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") in June 2023.
- Lycopodium to lead: Process Plant and most On-Site Infrastructure, optimisation of the DFS process and tailings storage facility design, completion of the earthworks design and advancement of the technical and commercial documentation of long-lead mechanical and electrical items.
- Osino to lead: the bulk power supply connection to NamPower's new Erongo substation, optimisation of supplementary renewable power supply plans, extension of ground and surface water supply models and designs, and detailed design of the access road re-routing.
- The Company has commenced a resource infill drill program of up to 12,000m aiming to confirm the short-range resource estimation parameters and to convert a significant portion of the first two years of mining into the Measured Reserve category.
- Osino has also commenced a variety of pre-construction activities incl. recruitment of an Owners Project team and formal Operational Readiness ("OR") planning. All OR activities are directed by Osino.
- In parallel to finalising the DFS, Osino has also progressed detailed technical, environmental and social due diligence with a credible mining project financier through their internal approvals process and is aiming to complete legal documentation and achieve financial close later in H2 2023.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 03, 2023 -- Osino Resources Corp. (TSXV:OSI) (FSE:RSR1) (OTCQX:OSIIF) ("Osino" or "the Company") is pleased to provide an update progress with activities in support of the planned development of Osino's Twin Hills Gold Project ("Twin Hills" or "the Project"), following the successful completion of a Definitive Feasibility Study in June 2023.
Heye Daun, Osino's President and CEO commented: "The award of this FEED study marks another key milestone for Osino as it moves the Twin Hills Gold Project closer to production. Having worked closely with Lycopodium on successive technical studies over the last few years, we are delighted to have selected them as the engineering lead towards the implementation of the Twin Hills project. Lycopodium is recognized for their gold processing plant design expertise and their world-class track record of on-time and on-budget project delivery in Africa and globally.
At the same time, the Osino team is making great strides in further advancing various studies and activities towards completing bulk power and water supply and towards concluding the permitting process for the project."
The Twin Hills Gold Project is located within Namibia's prospective Damara sedimentary mineral belt, in proximity to and along strike of the producing, open-pit Navachab and Otjikoto gold mines. Twin Hills is planned to be a conventional open-pit gold mine with a whole-ore carbon-in-leach ("CIL") metallurgical processing plant.
Proposed Project Development Plan
The latest mineral resource and reserve estimates, production and financial results and key valuation metrics determined during the DFS were reported in the Company's press release dated June 12, 2023, and a Technical Report filed on July 13, 2023.
Osino is currently putting in place the necessary service agreements with multiple consultants for a five-to-six-month FEED package and related work. Most consultants being engaged in the Project were actively involved in the preparation of the recently completed DFS.
An Owner's Project team will coordinate the activities of the main engineering, procurement and construction management ("EPCM") contractor and other consultants, and in addition will be directly responsible for supplementary resource drilling, detailed planning and early implementation of Operational Readiness activities.
The main objectives of the FEED package and related activities include:
- Develop plant designs and procurement documents for major long lead equipment items and construction packages to the point of being ready to place orders when project implementation finance is in place.
- Compile the overall process plant and infrastructure project master schedule and control budget estimate.
- Initiate detailed planning of borehole water supply, access road re-routing and power line design and construction.
- Investigate alternative tailings filtration equipment with potential to reduce capital costs, as well as finalising the remainder of the process engineering design for the plant.
- Update proposals from preferred vendors to re-validate capital and operating cost estimates.
- Optimise the orientation of the TSF to utilise topography on site more effectively.
- Test the planned use of calcrete as one element of the composite lining for the tailings storage facility (TSF).
- Enhance the mining schedule to reduce or defer waste stripping where possible.
- Prepare trade-off studies of Owner vs Contract mining and mine vehicle maintenance strategies.
- Update the hydrological and hydrogeological models as well as the flood mitigation plans for the site.
- Enhance the geotechnical information and earthworks designs for the process plant.
- Continue all work necessary to obtain secondary permits and services for the planned operation.
- Investigate use of local building materials and resources for infrastructure design and construction.
- Continue investigating the potential to supply most of the Project's electrical power from renewable energy sources.
Additional resource drilling is expected to improve the definition of the mining reserve, increase the extent of the identified mineral resource, and ensure that the planned process plant site is not underlain by potentially economically recoverable mineralised material. The Operational Readiness activities in this period will be focused on items that Osino needs to put in place on site before construction activities can commence.
In parallel to finalising the DFS, Osino has also progressed detailed technical, environmental and social due diligence with a credible mining project financier through their internal approvals process and is aiming to complete legal documentation and achieve financial close in H2 2023.
Project implementation will commence once permitting has been completed, full project financing is in place and a formal investment decision ("FID") has been made by Osino's Board of Directors.
Qualified Person's Statement
David Underwood, BSc. (Hons) is Vice President Exploration of Osino Resources Corp. and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release and is a registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Pr. Sci. Nat. No.400323/11) and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.
About Osino Resources
Osino is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on the fast-tracked development of our wholly owned, Twin Hills Gold Project ("Twin Hills") in central Namibia. Since its grassroots discovery by Osino in August 2019 the Company has completed more than 225,000m of drilling and has completed a suite of specialist technical studies culminating in the recently published Twin Hills Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS"). The DFS describes a technically simple and economically robust open-pit gold operation with a 2.15moz gold reserve, 13-year mine life and average annual gold production of over 169koz per annum.
Osino has a commanding ground position of approximately 8,000km2 located within Namibia's prospective Damara sedimentary mineral belt, mostly in proximity to and along strike of the producing Navachab and Otjikoto Gold Mines. The Company is actively exploring a range of gold prospects and targets along the belt by utilizing a portfolio approach geared towards discovery, targeting gold mineralization that fits the broad orogenic gold model.
Our core projects are favourably located north and north-west of Namibia's capital city Windhoek. By virtue of their location, the projects benefit significantly from Namibia's well-established infrastructure with paved highways, railway, power and water in close proximity. Namibia is mining-friendly and lauded as one of the continent's most politically and socially stable jurisdictions. Osino continues to evaluate new ground with a view to expanding our Namibian portfolio.
Further details are available on the Company's website at https://osinoresources.com/
On Behalf of The Board of Directors
Heye Daun, President & CEO
CONTACT INFORMATION
Osino Resources Corp.
Yaron Conforti, Corporate Development
yconforti@osinoresources.com
+1-604-687-2038
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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's future plans or prospects of the Company, including prospects for economic recoverability of mineral resources. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake to update any forward- looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.