Big Reef mining plans shaping up for Savannah

Agate Creek mine operator Savannah Goldfields has announced high-grade gold assay results from blast hole drilling at a potential satellite pit called Big Reef. Savannah has completed a preliminary pit design for the Big Reef resource area, which is situated just outside the town of Forsayth. Located 45km by road from Savannah's Georgetown processing plant, Big Reef is closer to that facility than the Agate Creek mine and has a haulage route less likely to be impacted by weather - a boon for a company that was unable to transport ore to its plant last quarter due to wet season road damage. The company said Big Reef was expected to be the first of a number of satellite pits opened and mined in parallel with Agate Creek operations to provide additional feed to its Georgetown gold processing plant. Assay results received for the grade control drilling program at Big Reef and Big Reef Extension included: BRA028 - 6m at 8.88 g/t gold from 2.4m, including: 2.4m at 15.23 g/t gold BRA085 - 18m at 5.69 g/t gold from surface, including: 7.2m at 11.44 g/t gold BRA087 - 6m at 9.96 g/t gold from 10.8m BRA089 - 15.6m at 6.1 g/t gold from 9.6m, including 3.6m at 11.2 g/t gold BRA091B - 8.4m at 7.21 g/t gold from 10.8m BRA092 - 3.1m at 16.48 g/t gold from 18.5m BRGC17 - 8.4m at 6.39 g/t gold from 15.6m, including 2.4m at 16.3 g/t gold BRGC31 - 16.8m at 4.85 g/t gold from 8.4m, including 7.2m at 6.8 g/t gold BRGC47 - 3.6m at 6.6 g/t gold from 12m Modelled pit shells prior to these results reflect a targeted mined resource of about 54,000 tonnes at a grade of 3.1 g/t. Savannah said the new results would be incorporated into a final pit design, enabling this project to progress towards mining. “We are pleased with these high-grade gold drilling results from the Big Reef project and they represent significant progress in executing the company’s growth strategy of developing additional sources of high-grade ore from its portfolio of gold projects," Savannah chairman Stephen Bizzell said. "In addition to Agate Creek and Big Reef, Savannah has a portfolio of projects that are within haulage distance of the Georgetown gold processing facility. Sherwood West Pit 4 at Agate Creek gold mine. "Big Reef and a host of other deposits like it within the company’s tenement portfolio will underpin the company’s strategy to develop multiple sources of ore for processing at Georgetown." Damage caused by a series of significant cyclone events in North Queensland earlier in the year kept the company’s mining and processing operations out of action last quarter as access and haulage route roads were repaired. In its quarterly report, Savannah said a total of 4700 tonnes of high-grade ore and a further 1200 tonnes of lower-grade ore were stockpiled at Agate Creek from the Sherwood West pits awaiting road repairs to be completed to allow heavy vehicle haulage. The company has now sold 12,467 ounces of refined gold as well as 7,662 ounces of refined silver and received aggregate gold and silver sale proceeds of $35.34 million (inclusive of third-party gold sales) since starting production in September 2022. You may also like: https://industryqld.com.au/nq-neighbours-work-together-on-gold-treatment-options/

Big Reef mining plans shaping up for Savannah

Industry Queensland

Related News

Industry group backs community consultation push

LNP presses ‘pause’ on wind farm proposals

Peabody gives a glimpse of Anglo asset plans

Get access to breaking mining news, now.