The Board of multi-commodity company Alkane Resources Limited has approved the development of underground mining operations at the Tomingley Gold Operations, which is located in the Central West region of New South Wales.
The gold operations at Tomingley are based on an original 579,000-ounce gold resource approximately 50 kilometres south-west of Dubbo. Operated by Tomingley Gold Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alkane, the operations are based on four gold deposits: Wyoming One, Wyoming Three, Caloma and Caloma Two.
In an announcement yesterday, Alkane stated that ground support work for the portal will commence in late 2018, with development commencing shortly after in early 2019. The approved plan includes 93 000 ounces of gold that will be recovered over 40 months at a cash cost of between A$1 100 to A$1 200 per ounce.
One of the company’s first priorities underground is to establish a drill position to target further extensions along strike and at depth, as geologically mineralisation is open under all three open cut pits. According to the most recent announcement, the company is ‘well placed’ to execute this development since most of the major equipment required for the underground has already been purchased and is currently undergoing refurbishment. Additionally, the recruitment of experienced underground operators and support crew has already commenced.
First ore from the Tomingley Gold Operation is expected to be produced from underground in mid-2019 and stockpiled on the surface until processing recommences in the final quarter of 2019. Open cut operations will continue on day shift at Tomingley Gold Operations until early 2019 as exposed ore is removed from the base of the pits. Processing of medium grade stockpiles will continue until approximately April 2019 and then resume on underground ore. Cash outflow to recover first ore is estimated at A$25M.
More information on the project can be found here.