Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX:OBM) has made a significant stride forward with its operational performance at the Davyhurst Gold Project in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia during the December 2021 quarter.
During the period, Ora ran open pit and underground mining operations at Riverina, Missouri and Golden Eagle; with the Golden Eagle mine completing production as planned at quarter-end.
Gold production for the period was 17,192 ounces - the company’s best performance since the re-start of the Davyhurst operation.
Much of the increase can be attributed to plant stability leading to a consistent mill throughput of about 90,000 tonnes for each month of the quarter.
This is an almost 20% throughput improvement from the prior quarter and reflects the culmination of plans previously communicated to the market.
A summary of mine production at Davyhurst.
Exploration and evaluation activities during the quarter included a combination of first-pass exploration air core (AC) drilling, prospect scale reverse circulation drilling, assaying of samples and data evaluation, and review of lithium mineralisation within OBM tenure at the Davyhurst Gold Project.
A total of 4,777 metres of mineral exploration drilling was completed during the quarter.
Drilling comprised:
- Air-core: 4,543 metres
- Reverse circulation: 234 metres
Exploration sample assay turnaround times remain extremely long with results for a portion of the exploration samples submitted during the quarter still pending.
Results will be reported once all assays have been received and interpreted.
Significant intercepts
Results that were received during the quarter again highlighted the prospectivity of the tenement package with significant intercepts including:
- 5 metres at 30.7gpt from 127 metres (Victoria Workings)
- 5 metres at 4.0gpt from 54 metres (Victoria Workings)
- 4 metres at 6.5gpt from 27 metres (Victoria Workings)
Ora sold 18,806 ounces of gold during the quarter at an average price of A$2,472 per ounce.
The company held A$15.0 million in cash with no debt as of December 31, 2021.
During the quarter refined gold sold exceeded the prior quarter leading to reduced costs per ounce as performance continued to improve.
The company anticipates further reductions as optimisation continues.
Ora has re-iterated its FY22 gold production forecast in the range of 70,000 to 75,000 ounces – although to the lower end of the range.