Havilah Resources Ltd (ASX:HAV) (FRA:FWL) has lodged the final permitting document required for the West Kalkaroo open pit starter gold mine in South Australia to go ahead.
The Program for Environment Protection and Rehabilitation (PEPR) document has been lodged with the South Australian Department for Energy and Mining (DEM) for assessment and approval.
This is a comprehensive document that describes how the company would monitor, minimise and mitigate any impacts of the proposed West Kalkaroo mining operation on the natural environment and local population.
Rehabilitation measures
The PEPR also describes the rehabilitation measures that would be implemented upon closure of the mining operation such that any long-term impacts on the local environment are minimised.
Havilah’s technical director Dr Chris Giles said completion of the Kalkaroo PEPR document was the culmination of many months of dedicated effort by Havilah’s staff and consultants.
“Approval of this key milestone document by the DEM would give the final permitting go-ahead for the West Kalkaroo open pit gold mine, given Havilah has already secured necessary mining tenements and the surrounding pastoral lease on which the Kalkaroo deposit is located,” he said.
Detail of West Kalkaroo site layout and possible future open pit expansion plans.
Subject to there being no major revisions required, DEM guidance indicates a minimum three to four months assessment and approval period for a PEPR.
During this period Havilah will continue to work on finalising the project financial model and FEED studies for the gold processing plant, including final process flow sheet design and equipment selection.
“Main tasks ahead”
Giles added: “The main tasks ahead of us are finalising processing plant and mining studies and securing the West Kalkaroo project development funding.”
Indicative timeline for West Kalkaroo project activities as indicated in the PEPR document.
The PEPR covers the proposed West Kalkaroo gold open pit that is at the very western (and upper) part of the Main Kalkaroo copper-gold deposit.
Starter project
Havilah proposes to operate the West Kalkaroo gold mine as a starter project and funding catalyst for the much larger Kalkaroo Copper-Gold Project.
West Kalkaroo mining operation is initially proposed to produce 80,000-90,000 ounces of gold and 5,000 tonnes of native copper (near pure copper metal) over a three-to-four-year period, but mining may be continued in the eastern extensions of the oxide zone.
Free-dig material
The West Kalkaroo gold ore is a soft, clayey material that is free-dig with no blasting required and needs only light crushing and scrubbing to liberate the ‘free’ gold particles.
Gold and some native copper would be recovered in a gravity circuit, followed by carbon-in-pulp cyanide leaching for the remainder of the finer gold.
The mining at West Kalkaroo would remove much of the soft free-dig overburden, which should make the main Kalkaroo Copper-Gold project a potentially more attractive investment proposition.
In the last 12 months, the company's share price has risen steadily from 6.1 cents to 22.5 cents today after hitting a new three-year high of 25 cents in late January 2021.