Superior Resources has released the results of a revised scoping study for its Steam Engine gold project based on an upgraded mineral resource estimate and higher gold prices.

Superior managing director Peter Hwang said the company was now confident to progress Steam Engine as a low-capex and near-term revenue-generating operation capable of underpinning a greater Greenvale project development strategy.

The revised study took into account a significantly higher gold price assumption of $3250/oz, compared to $2200/oz in the 2021 study.

There is a significantly upgraded mineral resource underlying the new work, with a 60.7 per cent increase to 4.18Mt at 1.5g/t gold for 196,000oz (based on a stand-alone processing operation); and 40.2 per cent increase to 2.72Mt at 2.0g/t gold for 171,000oz (using a toll treatment option).

The company said the outcomes showed considerable improvements in project economics compared to the 2021 study, with significantly greater likelihood of project delivery as a near-term, low capex, open-pit mining operation.

The project would have a pre-tax NPV of about $38 million if Superior pursues the toll treatment option or $42 million under a standalone processing model.

Bringing the mine online would involve a capex of $6 million under the toll treatment model compared to $63 million to establish a processing operation.

“We are naturally very pleased with the compelling scoping study outcomes, which are quite remarkable considering the increased cost inputs and the reduced level of production on which the study was based,” Mr Hwang said.

“Importantly, the scoping study highlights the substantial value escalation that the project can deliver with increasing scale.

“As a result, our current resource expansion and exploration drilling programs are focused on extending the mineral resource along strike, identifying new lode zones along approximately 10km of untested mineralised structural corridors and in particular, new high grade lode targets that have been identified by the SAM geophysics.

“We will also be commencing feasibility study work units alongside the resource expansion programs.”