Where it initially approached the project as an underground operation, confidence is now growing that this is looking like an openpit, CEO Justin Reid said during the recent Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
"We are turning a remediation project back into production. This is a plug-and-play project, given the extensive infrastructure in place," he said.
"All the required infrastructure is there, combined with exceptionally cheap power. The tailings facility and camp are all permitted and installed, and we have a production road ready to roll."
Troilus was formed about eight months ago through a reverse takeover and changed its name from Pitchblack Resources. It obtained an option on the Troilus project from First Quantum Minerals, which had been the owner since 2014.
The company plans to deliver a new resource estimate on the J zone in November, which is expected to point the way forward for how the market should think about the project.
The company has completed a 36,000m drill campaign this summer to further expand the 2.7 million ounce resource. Spaced at 30-40m widths along the J4 target, the most recent drilling was showing that the J4 and J5 trends intersect closer to surface.
The underground mineralisation and grade of 1.7g/t gold were "very analogous" to Agnico Eagle's nearby Goldex mine, which produced 111,000 ounces of gold in 2017.
"And just like at Goldex, these large mineralised swathes are continuing at depth," Reid said.
The Troilus mine produced about two million ounces of gold and almost 70,000t of copper between 1996 and 2010.
Despite J4 remaining significantly underexplored, the team can infer from what they do know that the mineralisation resembles a consistent orebody. The mineralisation at J5 and the strike extensions at J4, have led to multiple new targets to the Northeast of J5.
Meanwhile, there remains significant resource upside at the J5 deposit, where previous mining only reached about 10m below surface. "Since day one of production in 1996, no more exploration holes were drilled."
Historical results southwest and at Z86 show "great potential" drill targets for next year's exploration effort. "Any openpittable material we can add will make this project even more attractive," Reid said.
The resource estimate, along with concurrent engineering and trade-off studies, would feed into a preliminary economic assessment, planned for early 2019, which would "put a frame around what we're doing".
The company closed a C$16 million (US$12.4 million) flow-through share offering at C$2.46 earlier this year and expects to graduate to the TSX main board in the next two weeks.
To date the stock has lost 45% of its value to trade at C90c a share, giving the company a valuation of C$14.2 million.
