Ramelius Resources Ltd has announced a major increase in the total Edna May and Greenfinch Mineral Resources and the Greenfinch Ore Reserve. Significant new drilling at Edna May was conducted in late 2017 and early 2018.
• 12% increase in Edna May Mineral Resources to 794,000 oz Au
• Includes high grade lode Mineral Resource of 77,000 oz at 6.7g/t Au
• 88% increase in Greenfinch Ore Reserve to 62,000 oz Au
• Improved confidence in quality of resource from +13,500 m of drilling
• Both surface and underground options for “Stage 3” development being evaluated.
The Edna May deposit forms the primary ore source for the Edna May gold mine at Westonia in Western Australia, located 300 km east of Perth. The Greenfinch deposit is a strike extension of the Edna May deposit and is located immediately west of the Edna May Stage 2 open pit currently being mined.
Regulatory approvals for mining of the Greenfinch deposit are in progress. Evaluation of the next phase of open pit or underground mining options for the Edna May deposit is also underway.
Edna May is a major deposit with a significant production history. Successive periods of underground mining of the quartz reefs occurred from 1911 to 1947 producing a total of 360,000 oz of gold at an average grade of 19.5 g/t from seven reefs to a depth of 240 m.
Modern mining commenced at Edna May in 1984 with the start of open-pit operations under Australian Consolidated Minerals Ltd (ACM). Open-pit mining by ACM extracted mainly oxide ore producing a total of 270,000 oz of gold at an average grade of 1.9 g/t Au. Current operations were commenced by Catalpa Resources in 2010, which merged with Conquest Mining Ltd in 2011 forming Evolution Mining Ltd.
The deposit has recorded production of over 1 Moz of gold, with more than 500,000 oz produced since 2011 under Evolution ownership. Annual production since 2011 has ranged from 66,000 oz to 99,000 oz. Mining is currently occurring within the Stage 2 open pit.
The diagram shows an Edna May generalised cross-section looking west showing Mineral Resource representation.