Auric Mining Ltd (ASX:AWJ) has begun grade control drilling at Jeffrey’s Find in Western Australia, a key step in advancing the project toward gold production and mining operations.
This initial short-life project will be mined in partnership with BML Ventures Pty Ltd, a local mining contractor.
BML will incur and pay all upfront ongoing costs in mining the gold, with net surplus cash to be split 50:50 between the two companies.
Grade control program details
The grade control program consists of 64 holes for 1,924 metres, to be drilled on a 10 by 20-metre pattern.
The program will be aligned with historical infill holes to produce a 10 by 10-metre pattern, filling in the data gaps from the previous drilling program.
So far, the following work has been completed at Jeffrey’s Find:
- Metallurgical test-work undertaken by Auric predicts gold recoveries of between 90 and 95%.
- A scoping study for open-pit mining and third-party toll treatment returned a positive result showing that at a gold price of $2,600 per ounce, the production target for the project, representing two processing options is 385,000 tonnes at 1.6 g/t gold to 550,000 tonnes at 1.5 g/t, producing between 18,900 ounces and 24,700 ounces gold.
- The Jeffreys Find deposit will be mined in two phases. A Small Mine – Mining Proposal that allows for the first phase starter pit has been approved.
- A water licence has been granted to drill bores at Jeffreys Find for dewatering.
- A 14-kilometre access road from the mine site to the sealed highway has been cleared.
- Engineering design for road access onto the Eyre Highway has been submitted.
- A Native Vegetation clearing permit has been granted.
From here Auric will engage in detailed mine planning based on grade control results, having already submitted a mining proposal application for a final pit and finalise negotiations and contracts with a toll treatment operator for processing of the starter pit ore.