Australia-focused Native Mineral Resources provided an update on activities across its Charters Towers and Ravenswood assets in northern Queensland, including its latest Blackjack gold pour.
Completed on 25 March, the miner produced three doré bars totaling 560 ounce doré (17.41 kg), while broader mining, drilling, approvals and infrastructure workstreams continue to advance across Blackjack, Podosky and Far Fanning.
“Our latest 560 oz. doré pour at Blackjack demonstrates continued operating momentum as we build production and advance multiple parallel growth workstreams across the Charters Towers region. With more than 5,000 tonnes of Far Fanning material now stockpiled on the Blackjack ROM pad, and Podosky progressing toward its planned April mining start, we are positioning the company to increase feed flexibility and support our production profile,” said Native Mineral Resources Managing Director and CEO Blake Cannavo.
“At the same time, we continue to make strong progress on the enabling infrastructure and approvals required for future growth, including TSF development, drilling programs, PRCP submissions and water infrastructure planning. We believe this combination of current gold production and disciplined project advancement underpins the next phase of value creation for [Native Mineral Resources] shareholders.”
The Podosky drill and blast mobilisation has commenced, with first blast targeted for 7 April, followed by pre-mining works and first stripping in April. Mining and ore haulage to the Blackjack ROM pad are scheduled to commence from mid-April. Native Mineral Resources has secured exclusive rights for 12 months to undertake mining activities and extract gold and silver from Podosky, with ore to be hauled to the Blackjack operations for processing.
The Blackjack restart program is progressing through the technical planning and approval phase. Cut-off drilling was completed on 17 February, geological modelling was completed on 4 March, and pit optimisation, design and scheduling are continuing through early April. Review and approval are also planned for early April, followed by pre-mining works, including dewatering and site preparation.
Drill and blast mobilisation is scheduled to commence shortly thereafter, with first blast targeted for 19 April, first stripping scheduled from 20 April, and mining and ore delivery to the Blackjack ROM pad planned to commence from late April to early May.
Source: Native Mineral Resources