How to Write a Gold Mining Business Plan in 7 Essential Steps
How to Write a Business Plan for Gold Mining
Follow 7 practical steps to create a Gold Mining business plan in 15–20 pages, featuring a 5-year forecast, identifying $90 million in CAPEX, and detailing a 58-month payback period
How to Write a Business Plan for Gold Mining in 7 Steps
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Step Name
Plan Section
Key Focus
Main Output/Deliverable
1
Define Mineral Resource and Project Scope
Concept
Geological assessment, 2026 production target
Validated project foundation
2
Detail Extraction and Processing Plan
Operations
Ore flow, $20M plant investment
Defined processing strategy
3
Calculate Initial Investment and Funding Need
Financials
$90M CapEx, $76M peak funding gap
Confirmed funding requirement
4
Forecast Commodity Sales and Pricing Strategy
Market
10k units @ $1,900/unit, hedging plan
Sales forecast model
5
Establish Unit Economics and Variable Costs
Financials
$170 direct cost, 25% revenue-based fees
Cost structure baseline
6
Determine Fixed Overhead and Staffing Needs
Team
$114M fixed costs, $163M 2026 wages
Operational budget structure
7
Build 5-Year Financial Statements and Sensitivity
Financials
Y5 EBITDA $50M, 58-month payback
5-year projection package
What is the proven resource reserve size and expected life of mine (LOM)?
The proven reserve size and expected Life of Mine (LOM) are the bedrock figures determining the long-term viability of the Gold Mining operation and how fast you can recover initial capital investments. These metrics must be established through rigorous geological surveys before securing major funding, a process similar to what dictates profitability in other extraction industries, like learning How Much Does The Owner Of Gold Mining Make?
Reserve Size Dictates Viability
Reserve size sets the operational runway for the mine.
It directly impacts the Net Present Value (NPV) calculation.
Smaller reserves mean higher risk premiums demanded by lenders.
Accurate surveys are defintely mandatory for securing major funding.
LOM Drives Capital Recovery
LOM defines the timeline for depreciation schedules.
It determines the period over which initial capital expenditure is recovered.
Geological certainty reduces the perceived risk of the asset base.
This data is essential for structuring debt covenants accurately.
What is the all-in sustaining cost (AISC) per ounce/pound for each commodity?
The All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) per ounce for your Gold Mining business shows true profitability by capturing every expense required to keep the mine running, not just the cost to dig the rock out. Understanding this baseline cost is crucial before you even look at startup expenses; check out How Much Does It Cost To Open, Start, Launch Your Gold Mining Business? to see the initial investment needed to support these ongoing costs. If your realized selling price is below the AISC, you're losing money on every ounce produced, even if direct extraction costs look low.
What AISC Must Cover
Direct costs like labor, fuel, and explosives for extraction.
Processing costs: crushing, milling, and refining the ore.
Statutory and contractual royalties paid on production volume.
Sustaining capital expenditures (CapEx) needed to maintain output.
Controlling Operational Profit
AISC dictates the break-even price point against volatile spot prices.
If AISC is $1,200 per ounce, a spot price of $1,150 means a $50 loss per ounce.
Cost control is the main lever you pull to widen the profit margin.
Optimizing throughput efficiency cuts processing dollars per ounce produced.
How will the $90 million initial capital expenditure (CAPEX) be funded and phased?
The initial $90 million capital expenditure for the Gold Mining operation is heavily front-loaded into land acquisition and mine development, requiring a clear funding stack to meet the minimum cash need of approximately $76 million by December 2026. Founders must secure a precise mix of equity and debt now to cover these early, large outlays.
Funding Stack Imperatives
Define the precise equity to debt ratio for the $90M total.
Target $76M cash availability by 12/2026.
Debt covenants must support front-loaded spending schedules.
Land acquisition consumes the initial capital tranche.
Mine development drives peak cash utilization rates.
Track actual spend against budgeted CAPEX monthly.
You need defintely tight controls on initial procurement timing.
What are the primary environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and mitigation costs?
ESG compliance directly impacts the Gold Mining operation by setting fixed regulatory costs and creating major risks around community relations and unforeseen environmental liabilities; if you're planning this launch, Have You Considered The Best Ways To Open And Launch Your Gold Mining Business Successfully? These upfront costs, like the $8,000/month in fees, must be budgeted against potential bottom-line destruction from future liabilities.
Fixed Regulatory Burden
Regulatory Fees and Permits are a fixed monthly outlay.
This compliance cost hits $8,000 per month regardless of production.
Community relations are a social risk requiring proactive management.
Permitting timelines directly affect the start date for revenue generation.
Margin Destruction Risk
Unforeseen environmental liabilities can quickly destroy operating margins.
These liabilities represent contingent, potentially massive, long-term costs.
Failure here translates directly into reduced shareholder value for Gold Mining.
Key Takeaways
A gold mining venture requires a substantial initial capital expenditure (CAPEX) of $90 million, with a peak funding requirement of approximately $76 million needed during the development phase.
Despite the high initial outlay, the projected financial model indicates a 58-month payback period, achieving $16 million in EBITDA by the first year of operation (2026).
Controlling the All-In Sustaining Cost (AISC) per ounce is the primary operational lever for ensuring profitability against fluctuating commodity prices.
Securing major funding hinges on validating the project's foundation through accurate geological surveys that define the reserve size and Life of Mine (LOM).
Step 1
: Define Mineral Resource and Project Scope
Resource Proof
This step proves you actually have something to mine. Without a solid geological assessment, your projections are just guesses. You must define the proven reserves and how long the mine will run, the life-of-mine schedule. This documentation validates the entire $90 million capital expenditure plan. If the resource estimate is weak, it's a non-starter.
Set Production Proof
Tie your geology directly to output. Define precise yearly targets based on reserve grades. For instance, plan for 10,000 Gold Dore Bars in 2026. This specific volume is what drives the revenue forecast later on. Make sure the life-of-mine schedule supports the 5-year financial model projections. It’s the foundation for calculating your payback period.
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Step 2
: Detail Extraction and Processing Plan
Processing Infrastructure
Getting the gold out of the ground is only half the battle; you need the infrastructure to make it sellable. This step defines the physical pathway from raw ore extraction to marketable concentrate. The centerpiece of this plan is the $20 million Primary Processing Plant investment. This plant handles crushing, grinding, and flotation to separate the valuable metal. If this plant underperforms, your projected 10,000 Gold Dore Bars volume for 2026 is defintely at risk.
Fleet Sizing
You can't run a mine without the right iron. Detail the heavy equipment fleet needed—think haul trucks, excavators, and dozers—and tie their procurement schedule directly to the $25 million Mine Development budget mentioned in Step 3. Operational readiness depends on having this gear ready when the plant fires up. Honestly, underestimating maintenance downtime for these assets is a classic early mistake that kills throughput targets.
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Step 3
: Calculate Initial Investment and Funding Need
Total CapEx Required
Founders must nail the initial investment number; it dictates equity dilution and operational runway. This step confirms the total required Capital Expenditure (CapEx), which totals $90 million for this operation. Major upfront costs include $15 million earmarked for Land Acquisition and $25 million dedicated to Mine Development.
These figures cover the hard assets needed before you process ore. Get this wrong, and you starve the project before the first ounce is mined. This defintely dictates your initial financing strcuture. You must prove these costs are locked down.
Confirming the Funding Gap
You need to know exactly when the cash burn peaks. The total CapEx is $90 million, but initial funding sources rarely cover 100% of that upfront. This leaves a peak funding requirement, or gap, of approximately $76 million that must be covered by debt or staged equity tranches.
This $76M figure is the minimum you must secure before breaking ground on major infrastructure. If your timeline for securing the final tranche slips by three months, you need 90 days of working capital buffer built into that gap calculation. That buffer protects against delays in permitting or equipment delivery.
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Step 4
: Forecast Commodity Sales and Pricing Strategy
Projecting Gold Revenue
You need a solid revenue projection to secure funding and plan operations. Your model relies on selling the physical commodity produced directly. For 2026, the plan targets 10,000 Gold Dore Bars. If the market price holds steady at $1,900 per unit, that yields $19 million in gross sales. That’s the foundation. Honestly, this calculation is simple multiplication: units times price equals revenue. What this estimate hides is the actual realized price you get after refining and transaction costs, which Step 5 covers.
Managing Price Risk
Gold prices swing hard, so you can't just rely on spot prices at delivery. You must lock in a portion of future sales now. This is called hedging, which means using financial instruments—like forward contracts—to guarantee a price for a set volume months ahead. If you hedge 50% of your 2026 volume, you secure revenue even if the spot price drops below $1,900. This stabilizes your cash flow and makes your $114 million fixed overhead manageable. Defintely plan to hedge early.
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Step 5
: Establish Unit Economics and Variable Costs
Unit Cost Calculation
Figuring out your total variable cost per unit is defintely crucial for pricing your Gold Dore Bars profitably. These costs scale directly with every ounce you pull from the ground, unlike your fixed overhead. If you miss these revenue-based deductions, you’ll misstate your contribution margin, which is a fatal error for a high-CapEx business like mining.
Total Variable Cost
Here’s the quick math for the variable cost structure. You have a $170 direct cost per unit. Then, add the revenue-based costs: 15% for Royalty Payments and 10% for Refining Charges. This means 25% of your revenue is immediately consumed by fees. If you sell that bar for the projected $1,900, those fees alone cost you $475 per unit.
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Step 6
: Determine Fixed Overhead and Staffing Needs
Setting the Annual Cost Baseline
You need to nail down your fixed overhead before you project profitability. These are the costs you pay even if you mine zero ounces. For this gold operation, the annual fixed costs settle around $114 million. This number is your absolute minimum monthly burn rate, excluding variable expenses like royalties or refining fees. It’s a massive fixed base, so efficiency in administration and infrastructure is defintely critical to survival.
Staffing costs are the biggest driver here. By 2026, projected annual wages hit $163 million. You can't skimp on core expertise when dealing with complex geology and strict financial reporting rules. These costs represent the commitment to running a professional, compliant mining firm, not just a small operation.
Staffing Structure Reality Check
Focus your hiring plan on roles that protect the asset and the balance sheet. You need specialized technical leadership to ensure resource validation and extraction efficiency. Expect to staff essential positions like a Chief Geologist to manage reserves and a Finance Controller to track the massive capital inflows and operational spend.
These key hires anchor your operational integrity. If you delay hiring these experts, you risk poor extraction rates or compliance failures down the line. Remember, the $163 million in wages for 2026 reflects the cost of securing top-tier talent necessary to manage a $114 million fixed cost base effectively.
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Step 7
: Build 5-Year Financial Statements and Sensitivity
Validate the 5-Year Story
Building the 5-year projection proves the investment thesis. It maps the initial $90 million capital spend against operational scaling. This financial narrative shows investors when they see a return. If the model doesn't show clear profitability after heavy upfront costs, the project stalls. Honestly, this is where the whole plan lives or dies.
Hit Key Financial Milestones
Drive the model to hit the target metrics. You must clearly show EBITDA growing from $16 million in Year 1 to $50 million by Year 5. This growth justifies the 58-month payback period and the massive 13747% Return on Equity (ROE). Ensure sensitivity testing accounts for the 15% Royalty Payments.
