Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX:BGL) has awarded the contract for construction of its open pit mining and tailings facility at its namesake play in the northern goldfields region of WA to a subsidiary of NRW Holdings Limited.
NRW is one of Australia’s leading mining contractors with significant experience in hard rock open pit mining.
“I am delighted to announce that NRW has been awarded this contract with Bellevue Gold. NRW has a long history as a high-quality provider of mining services to our clients in the Gold Industry and I look forward to a successful partnership with Bellevue,” NRW CEO Jules Pemberton said.
The contract has a total value of around $24 million, which is in line with the pre-production capital expenditure forecast.
Mining at the Vanguard open pit is set to commence in late March-early April and will offer Bellevue the opportunity to generate early cashflow via a toll treating arrangement.
Once mined, waste material from Vanguard will form the basis of the tailings facility.
Vanguard is scheduled to provide some 10,000 ounces which will be available for processing in mid-2023, well in advance of the completion of the Bellevue processing facility.
The company is exploring toll treatment options with mining companies in the region and discussions remain ongoing.
Tribune boxcut brought forward
As part of the company’s plan to accelerate underground development and bring on additional ore sources, commencement of the Tribune boxcut will also be brought forward to open up the Tribune mining front.
The addition of the Tribune ore source will increase the number of active working fronts to five in the first year of production, further de-risking the production outlook by providing another independent mining area.
Strategically, this will also provide options for drilling the southern extensions of the orebody from underground and allow for a top-down mining method, which will provide the most efficient method of accessing the orebody.
The Tribune boxcut is scheduled to commence immediately after completion of the Vanguard Open Pit. This will create a considerable saving on de-mobilisation and mobilisation costs of the open pit mining fleet.
On time, on budget
Construction of the 1-million-tonne-per-annum nameplate processing facility continues to advance on schedule and budget.
Bulk and detailed earthworks for the processing plant site have all been fully completed, structural concrete on all critical infrastructure foundations has also been completed with only very minor concrete works remaining.
Construction of structural steel for the crushing circuit is well advanced, while both secondary and tertiary crushers are on site and ready for installation.
Work continues on critical path CIL tanks, with five now at full height and progressing well ahead of schedule. Underground development remains on track with full ramp up of the third jumbo achieved during January 2023.
All three jumbos maintained full shift production, achieving more than 300 metres per jumbo per month on mostly capital development. Ore development is underway at the Armand work area, while capital development continues to advance towards the Bellevue South/Viago, Deacon Main and Marceline production areas.
Low power, small carbon footprint
Grade control drilling activities are ongoing with two underground diamond rigs operating at the Armand, Marceline and Bellevue South areas. Recent drilling has continued to reinforce the geological model and further de-risk the resources ahead of mining.
A third underground rig has commenced targeting Resource/Reserve growth mainly at the Deacon Lode. Bellevue and Energy Developments Pty Ltd (EDL) are continuing to progress negotiations in relation to a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project.
This is a key step in Bellevue’s strategy to be powered by an average of up to 80% renewable energy each year using a wind, solar and battery hybrid power solution.
The Bellevue Gold Project is 430 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie and 50 kilometres north of the regional town of Leinster, WA, by the Goldfields Highway.
NRW will, where possible, source materials and supplies from these two regional centres.