Gascoyne Resources provides an update on construction activities at its Dalgaranga gold project (DGP), which contains a Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 31.1 Mt @ 1.3 g/t Au, which is inclusive of Proved and Probable Ore Reserves of 15.3 Mt @ 1.3 g/t.
Process plant construction is +90% complete and on schedule for wet ore commissioning and first gold in May. Key activities include:
- SAG mill – installation well advanced
- Crusher – installation well advanced
- Installation of mechanical equipment – well advanced
- Electrical installation – underway
- Water Services – commissioned and handed over to the operations team.
The airstrip has been completed and is fully operational. The power station and LNG storage facilities are on schedule for commissioning in mid-April.
Mining has commenced with mining at Sly Fox, Gilbeys and Golden Wings underway. Ore mining at Sly Fox has commenced with the ROM stockpile being developed prior to commencement of processing in May. Drill and blast activities are underway at Golden Wings, with the first blast completed on March 16.
All department heads have been employed and the majority of the operational team has commenced work.
The DGP is located about 65 km by road northwest of Mt Magnet in the Murchison gold mining region of Western Australia and covers the majority of the Dalgaranga greenstone belt. After discovery in the early 1990s, the project was developed and from 1996 to 2000 produced 229,000 oz of gold with reported cash costs of less than $350/oz.
The feasibility study that was completed on the DGP in November 2016 highlighted a robust development case. It investigated the development of two open pits feeding a 2.5 Mt/y processing facility resulting in production of around 100,000 oz/y for six years and concluded that the operation would be a low cost, high margin and long life operation with high operating margins.