Newcore Gold’s Enchi project in Ghana carries an after-tax net present value of $647 million at a 5% discount rate, with a 45% after-tax internal rate of return. Those are the headline results of the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) the company released on June 24, and they assume spot gold at $4,200 per ounce.
The base case is tougher. At $3,800 per ounce, after-tax NPV drops to $496 million and after-tax IRR to 37%. Pre-tax, the same price gives $794 million and 51%. Upfront capital is put at $351 million, and payback takes 1.6 years at $3,800 or 1.4 years at $4,200.
Output and costs
Over a 9.3-year mine life, the project would turn out 953,350 ounces of payable gold, an average of about 104,000 ounces a year. The first three years run richer. Production there is roughly 130,000 ounces annually, helped by an average mined grade of 0.80 grams per tonne. Across the full life of the mine, grade averages 0.64 g/t, the strip ratio is 4.3 to 1 and recovery is 90.5%.
Costs track that pattern. In years one through three, operating cost averages $1,399 per ounce, cash costs $1,859 and all-in sustaining cost (AISC) $1,967. Over the whole life, the figures climb to $1,689, $2,149 and $2,290 per ounce.
The plan calls for a conventional open pit feeding a mill with carbon-in-leach processing, at 5.5 million tonnes a year, run by contract miners. Ore from four deposits, Boin, Sewum, Nyam and Kwakyekrom, would be trucked to one plant. Construction would take 24 months.
Royalties, tax and the state’s share
Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. holds a 2% net smelter return royalty. Ghana’s royalty slides between 5% and 12% with the gold price: 10% at $3,800, 11% at $4,200, and 12% at $4,500 or higher. The model applies a 35% corporate tax rate, ignores inflation and assumes the project is funded entirely by equity. Ghana also has the right to a 10% free carried interest.
What comes next
Newcore plans to use the study as the basis for a mining lease application this year. “Completion of the Pre-Feasibility Study is an important milestone in advancing the Enchi Gold Project in Ghana towards a mining lease,” said CEO Luke Alexander, who also cited a government that “has shown strong support for project development.”
Ecofin Agency noted that a definitive feasibility study is still required and that financing has yet to be settled. Newcore recently closed a $15 million equity financing, according to Chairman Doug Forster.
The study rests on a resource estimate announced March 18, 2026, which counted drilling through October 6, 2025. It leaves out more than 50,000 metres of an 80,000-metre drill program still running at Enchi. A supporting technical report is due on the SEDAR+ filing system within 45 days of the release.
Sources
- Ghana: Enchi Gold Project Pegged at $351M
- Newcore Gold Announces Robust Pre-Feasibility Study for the Enchi Gold Project, Ghana
- Newcore Gold Announces Robust Pre-Feasibility Study for the Enchi Gold Project, Ghana
