Cauldron Energy Ltd’s (ASX:CXU) (OTCMKTS:CAULF) (FRA:UFX) is progressing towards approval from the Victorian Earth Resource Regulation (ERR) department for its program of work accessing the significant historical underground workings at its Blackwood Gold Project.
The company has received feedback from the EER and expects the program of work to access existing infrastructure below the Sultana, Sultan and North Sultan shafts for exploration and drilling to receive the go-ahead mid-year.
Cauldron aims to re-establish access to more than 1.5 kilometres of existing underground tunnels crosscutting its major northern reef systems to target the down plunge extensions of the numerous gold reefs identified historically.
“Golden opportunity”
For the first time, the whole field can be viewed in a single mining lease with improved geological understanding of gold distribution which may include some of the bonanza areas that have been missed in the upper levels beneath the current shafts.
Cauldron executive director Jess Oram said: “It is remarkable that such a historically prolific goldfield hasn’t been pursued as have the other two large Victorian goldfields.
“Cauldron can sensitively re-establish this golden opportunity because we have a green value system, the appropriate plans, the skills including an experienced network which can be combined with the head-start provided by the historical access infrastructure.
“This represents an exciting and rewarding opportunity for Cauldron, its shareholders and the local community.”
Long section of the northern area showing Tyreconnel Adit level accessing a large section of the historically mined areas.
Tyreconnel adit advantages
Cauldron intends to use the access points provided by the underground drive accessed from the Tyreconnel adit to structurally map and sample all of the multiple reef structures intersected.
The ability to access the Tyreconnel drive offers Cauldron the following advantages:
- The ability to isolate activities from the environment and community in the area;
- Reduces the length of drill holes by around 100 metres - vastly improving cost efficiency per ore-body intersection; and
- Provides direct access to the orebodies allowing channel sampling of the numerous gold reefs that the drive crosses – providing information in a cost-effective and timely manner.
Potential for multiple drill targets
The Blackwood Gold Project previously produced about 220,000 ounces of gold, grading between 16-23 g/t, with reported production of 73,313 ounces at 28 g/t from the Sultan shaft alone.
This historic infrastructure, worth many millions if it were constructed today, provides multiple well-positioned drill platforms which will enable the company to target the down plunge projection for the multiple reefs in the northern and central areas.
Historical reports indicate that lack of water pumping technology stopped continued down plunge mining of the high-grade shoots – not a lack of gold – and the company confidently expects to pursue multiple drill targets.
The company believes there is reasonable potential that some of the bonanza gold mined in the 1860s will remain unmined and accessible with some structural support work above the Tyreconnel level.
Conceptual 3.5 km long-section for Simmons – Rogers Big Hill – Sultan line of lode; the Tyreconnel accesses between the projected North and Central high-grade plunges (in red) making it the ideal drill platform especially for the North area.
Development strategy
The results of a comprehensive project-wide data collation, compilation and re-interpretation process has outlined a long trend of gold lodes having very high exploration potential, particularly the Central Area around Rogers Big Hill.
This prospect provides Cauldron with the opportunity to help achieve its twin goals of expanding the mineral resource and finding the fastest method to commence underground mine production to generate cashflow.
The company intends to use the more traditional handheld narrow-vein style mining systems consistent with the historical mining used in the area - partly due to narrow access tunnels and also because this is historically proven to be sensitive to the pristine environment in the region.
Cauldron’s vision at Blackwood is to be a low carbon green mine by combining the best of traditional mining methods used in the Blackwood mines which in later years used handheld compressed air drilling mining methods in conjunction with modern battery-driven transport systems - designing out the typical environmental impacts of mining with hydrocarbons.