WPG Resources Ltd (ASX:WPG) has started the first ore drive on 115 level at Challenger Deeps within the Challenger Gold Mine in South Australia.
Waste development on this level has been carried out enabling development to target the M1 and M2 stoping areas.
The M2 S2 R development drive is now entering the high grade ore zone.
First stoping scheduled in late February
Ore and waste development will continue with the first stoping of the M2 S2 limb scheduled in late February.
WPG is also progressing decline development with the Jumbuck decline scheduled to reach the 95 level in late January.
Challenger Deeps is the down plunge continuation below the 215 shear of the heavily mineralised systems that have been mined at Challenger over the last 15 years.
Surface drilling in 2009 confirmed the continuation of these systems at least 280 metres vertical below the last stoping horizon on the 135 level of the mine.
This stoping was undertaken on limbs of the M1/M2 structures with mining at the time constrained by the mining lease boundary.
Securing of the adjacent mining lease by WPG now allows unconstrained mining to proceed down plunge.
READ: WPG Resources reveals high-grade gold results from Challenger Deeps
In late 2017, following an upgrade of mine ventilation, diamond drilling targeting the next four production levels was undertaken to provide increased data density for mine planning purposes.
Drilling targeted not just the limbs of M1/M2 mined on the 135 level but has also targeted other limbs and folds, including Challenger West, Aminus, M3 and SEZ.
These sections have never been mined previously below the 215 shear.
Results similar to levels above the shear
Drilling results have been very similar to those in levels above the shear where multiple limbs and folds have been mined at grades in excess of 5 g/t gold.
Results include 0.83 metres at 9.33 g/t gold from 74.9 metres downhole, 1.8 metres at 19.33 g/t from 89.14 metres downhole and 2.08 metres at 6.74 g/t from 54.1 metres downhole.
These additional folds have the potential to increase the ounces per vertical metre above those used for initial planning purposes.
WPG aims to complete the remaining holes on the third fan of drilling in late February 2018.
READ: WPG Resources funded to access the highly prospective Challenger Deeps
The company recently received a $20 million loan facility from the Byrnecut Group.
The funds will be progressively deployed over the next few months primarily at the Challenger mine.