Aurelia Metals (ASX:AMI) has received Development Consent from the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment to develop the high-grade, polymetallic Federation Mine, located 10 kilometres south of its Hera operation in central-west NSW.
The mine will extract high-grade zinc, lead, copper, gold, and silver ore with a production capacity of 600 thousand tonnes per annum (ktpa) and an initial mine life of eight years.
Aurelia Metals says it's expecting the first high-grade Federation ore to be processed within 12 months of work recommencing.
The company also says the project is capital efficient with a Net Present Value (NPV) of $415M and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 71% based on spot prices.
As part of the project, Aurelia Metals is consulting with local stakeholders to consider changing the name of the mine to a more culturally sensitive identifier.