In welcoming a large group of analysts, investors and media to the Leinster site last week, Bellevue CEO Darren Stralow likened a visit to the high-grade project as “going back to the ‘90s”.

The company believes the 3.1 million ounce Bellevue project is like the early days of the 11Moz Jundee deposit, about 150km away.

Bellevue has a mining inventory of 1.85Moz, giving the company an initial 10-year mine life.

“We really do have an outstanding asset,” Stralow said during the pre-Diggers & Dealers site visit.

“These things don’t grow on trees – there’s not many of them around.

“We want to respect the orebody because we’re lucky to be here.”

Underground development kicked off in August 2020 and more than 5.1km of development has been completed.

Bellevue general manager Bill Stirling, who was previously GM of Jundee, said the ground conditions at the mine were the best he’d seen in his career.

Bill Beament’s Develop was awarded the mining contract for Bellevue and started work in May.

Develop posted a site development record of 325m in June, its first month, with development rates up 60% since it started at Bellevue.

“They backed that up with 300m [in July],” Stirling said.

“It’s a hell of a partnership and a hell of a good start.”

First ore was reached in late July, with the high-grade Armand lode, the first of five separate mining areas, intersected as expected.

Bellevue plans to have 200,000 tonnes of “low-grade” dirt at more than 5 grams per tonne gold sitting on the run-of-mine stockpile for the start of production.

Last month, the A$87.8 million engineering, procurement and construction contract for the 1 million tonne per annum plant was awarded to GR Engineering Services.

The plant has been designed to be expandable to 1.2Mtpa at no additional cost.

Stirling described the plant design as “cookie cutter” with GR having built many other similar plants all over WA.

Recoveries are expected to average more than 90%.

“The quote from our consultants was boring metallurgy which is a bloody good thing,” Stirling said.

Bellevue is obviously building a new project in an inflationary environment.

Stralow said cost was the main question facing the project.

The company has locked in 90% of pre-production expenditure, via contracts or tenders, protecting the $254 million project from inflationary pressures.

“We know when we say we’re fully funded to production next year it’s a true statement,” Stralow said.

“We’re in a really strong spot.”

First production is expected in the first half of 2023 with commercial production in the second half of 2023.

Preliminary guidance for the first 12 months of commercial production is 180,000-200,000oz at all-in sustaining costs of $1000-1100/oz.

Production in the first five years is forecast to average 200,000ozpa at AISC of $1000-1100/oz.

The project is set to generate average pre-tax life-of-mine free cashflow of $231 million per annum for first 10 years at a gold price of $2500/oz.

Bellevue has put sustainability at the forefront of its plans and has an aggressive target of achieving net zero emissions by 2026.

The company is targeting the use of 70-80% renewable energy via wind, solar and batteries.

Bellevue expects the project to be the lowest carbon emitter per ounce of ASX-listed gold producers with a forecast range of 0.15 to 0.20t CO2e per ounce

“We’re being really deliberate and costing in ESG from the outset,” Stralow said.

Bellevue already has an enviable resource of 9.8Mt at 9.9gpt gold for 3.1Moz and the company believes its 2700sq.km landholding has plenty more to give.

The company will work to convert the remaining 40% of the resource into the mine plan, while seeking new discoveries.

“We currently assume that this future inventory growth does occur and that Bellevue maintains this circa 200,000ozpa production rate for eight years,” Macquarie analyst Andrew Bowler said.

“However, due to strong resource growth prospects and highly encouraging exploration targets we continue to see potential for a circa 200,000ozpa production rate beyond our current expectations.”

The resource has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 63% since the Tribune lode was discovered in 2017.

The current resource is defined to the top 800m and is open in all directions.

Bellevue notes that comparative Archean lode gold deposits in the Agnew-Wiluna belt were being mined to 1500-200m depth.

As underground development progresses, Bellevue will gain better access to areas for drilling.

“We have only just touched this from the surface,” Stralow said.