WESTGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED Fender is located approximately 3.5km south of the Big Bell mine and will become the third underground mine feeding the company's 1.4Mtpa Tuckabianna processing hub.
Westgold's Executive Director,
Evaluation studies will commence in the new year as to the appropriate scale and location.'
Fender Overview
Fender was historically mined by Normandy in the 1990's with Westgold completing a cut-back during 2020 bringing the pit to 100m vertical depth. Life of mine open pit production totals 402,000 tonnes at 1.96g/t Au for 25,300oz. Under Westgold's ownership ore was trucked to the Tuckabianna processing hub.
Importantly, mining of the last 20 metres of the pit revealed continuous lodes of higher-grade ore, which have been confirmed by deeper drilling beneath the pit
The stratigraphy and structural setting at Fender is similar to that of Big Bell, where strike-slip movement on the layered meta-sediments have created dilationaljog zones which manifest as higher-grade ore shoots plunging steeply to the north.
The single mineralised lode at Fender varies in scale typically averaging 5-8m in true width. The lode is subvertical and present as an attractive simple mining proposition over the currently defined 300m strike.
Mining studies have determined that Fender will be developed as an underground mine supported by the extensive surface infrastructure and technical teams available at the proximate Big Bell mine. Fender has a current Resource endowment of circa 450oz/vertical metre.
Evident from the image is the width of the ore system and wall rock conditions. The drill density and confidence in the overall Mineral Resource in the first 200 metres beneath the open pit is high, allowing a high rate of resource conversion through to the 649,241t at 2.80g/t for 58,503oz Ore Reserve1 .
Looking Forward
Fender is fully permitted; site establishment has commenced, and key staff are available. It is Westgold's intention that mining will commence at Fender during 2HFY22 as the development requirements at the nearby Big Bell mine reduces and equipment can be transitioned. Fender represents the next in a line of near-term development targets around Cue that underpin Westgold's organic expansion plans with evaluation studies to commence in the new year as to the optimum location and scale of a potential h fourth processing hub under Westgold control.
Contact:
Tel: +61 8 9462 3400
Email: wayne.bramwell@westgold.com.au
Web: www.westgold.com.au
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this report relate to the future, including forward looking statements relating to Westgold's financial position and strategy. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factorsthat could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Westgold to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Actual events or results may differ materially from the events or results expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement and deviations are both normal and to be expected.
(C) 2021 Electronic News Publishing, source
