SolGold plc (LON:SOLG) chief executive Nick Mather doesn’t lack ambition. After delivering a resource update on Alpala, its copper-gold deposit in Ecuador, he said: “Alpala is just the beginning for SolGold and we can see the emergence of the company as a copper-gold major and Ecuador becoming one of the world's largest copper producers as a result."
Nobody could fault Mather for underselling the potential of SolGold’s portfolio. But then the latest update does speak to the world-class potential of the company’s most advanced asset.
READ: SolGold boss hints at significant upside for Ecuador copper-gold project
Alpala is estimated to contain an ‘indicated’ 8.4mln tonnes of copper and 19.4mln ounces of gold and an ‘inferred’ 2.5mln tonnes of copper and a further 3.8mln ounces of the yellow metal.
The trick will be getting the ore out of the ground in a country not particularly blessed with the infrastructure to support large-scale mines. Currently, SolGold is assessing the financial feasibility of the monster asset.
“The preliminary economic analysis is advancing and feasibility studies will follow seamlessly. Our aim is to fast track towards development,” said Mather.
The shares rose 5% in early trade.