Classic Minerals Ltd (ASX:CLZ) has officially started bulk sample mining at its 100%-owned Kat Gap Gold Project in Western Australia.
Bulk samples collected from will provide geological, engineering and metallurgical data before the company starts full-scale mining and production at the project.
If all proceeds to plan, this is expected to occur within the first quarter of 2022.
To test Gekko plant
Processing the bulk sample is an important step ahead of full-scale production activities, as it provides an opportunity to test and refine the Gekko plant purchased by the company to facilitate early gold mining and processing.
The Australian-made Gekko processing system is a transportable modular design that is scalable and is suited to the Kat Gap mineralisation.
The company is also in discussions to generate an early revenue stream by initial toll treatment of ore.
First turning of soil
The company plans to process between 3,000 and 5000 tonnes of ore at between 4 and 6 g/t gold for between 350 and 1,000 contained ounces of gold, which is a portion of the current 93,000-ounce mineral resource.
Classic has already obtained approvals to excavate up to 49,000 tonnes from Kat Gap under the terms of the underlying (granted) exploration tenure.
The company has already mobilised earthmoving equipment to the site and has defined the bulk sample mining area.
Classic chairman John Lester said: “With earthmoving equipment recently mobilised the Classic Minerals team was delighted to have been on-site to witness the first turning of soil which will serve to further de-risk the project and give the company and its investors increased confidence in executing the greater mining operation which is on track for commencement in the first quarter of 2022.”