Auric takes big step towards WA gold mine with new drill program

Auric Mining is pressing ahead with its ambition of a Jeffreys Find gold mine after commencing a grade control drill program at the project.

Jeffrey’s Find, situated 50km north-east of Norseman, combines two tenements and includes the Jeffreys Find gold deposit and the Neo prospect.

Grade control drilling is a mine planning tool designed to give certainty. The process better defines information on the ore grades and blocks in order to determine the mine model, in addition to optimising ore extraction and blasting patterns.

It also requires holes to be drilled in close proximity and Auric’s grade control program comprises 64 holes for 1924m on a 20 x 10m pattern. The grade control holes will infill a historic drill pattern resulting in a 10m x 10m pattern.

The company regards the grade control drilling as a significant step towards gold production from the deposit though the project will have a short mine life – about three months for a starter pit, a year or less for the full pit.

Jeffreys Find is one of three projects Auric has in WA, the Widgiemooltha and Spargoville projects making up the trifecta. Auric regards Jeffreys Find as an open-pitable toll-treatment operation and notes there are at least nine gold processing plants located within a radius that includes Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie.

Inferred and indicated mineral resources at a 0.5 grams per tonne cut-off total 1.22 million tonnes at 1.22 grams per tonne gold for 47,900 ounces gold. Metallurgical test work undertaken by Auric has predicted gold recoveries of between 90 per cent and 95 per cent. The company believes the gold mineralisation at Jeffreys Find extends from surface to at least 140m depth and is thickest near surface before dipping at approximately 35 degrees.

The company also says work on obtaining the necessary permits is continuing and substantial progress has been made. The mining proposal to allow mining of a starter pit has been approved and a proposal for mining of a final pit has been submitted.

Things are coming together for Auric. An application for several water bores has also been ticked off, a native vegetation grant clearing permit has been granted, a 14km access road from the mine site to the sealed highway has been cleared and negotiations are continuing with the Ngadju Native Title Group for a mining agreement.

The company’s next steps include detailed mine planning, based on the grade control results and the finalisation of negotiation to execute a contract with a toll treatment operator for processing the starter-pit ore.

Jeffreys Find will be mined in partnership with local mining contractor BML Ventures. Significantly, under the terms of the partnership BML incurs and pays all upfront on-going costs in mining the gold. The net surplus cash will then be split 50:50.

Auric says metallurgical testing to date shows that the gold mineralisation is amenable to conventional carbon in leach treatment and potentially to heap leach.

Further metallurgical and geotechnical work is planned at Jeffreys Find together with drilling to potentially define resources at the Neo prospect to the north west.

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