Focus on Mount Freda in Cloncurry gold plans

Incoming owners plan a 10,000m drilling program at the mothballed Mount Freda mine, underpinning a planned restart for gold operations in the Cloncurry area. AuKing Mining managing director Paul Williams said that a recent agreement between that company and Orion had provided the momentum to create a detailed drilling program at Mount Freda to tackle technical aspects to be addressed prior to restarting mining. “There is little doubt that Mount Freda provides an integral basis for the proposed recommencement of mining operations at the Cloncurry gold project," he said. "We have taken the time in recent weeks to consider the key features of the proposed Mount Freda drilling program, with a view to that work commencing as soon as possible after Orion completes the acquisition of these assets." Orion has entered into an asset sale agreement to acquire the Lorena carbon in leach gold processing plant and associated facilities, about 15km east of Cloncurry Related: New chapter for Cloncurry district gold assets The agreement also covers the Mount Freda and Golden Mile package of exploration and mining tenements about 30km south of that plant. AuKing (ASX: AKN) has the right to acquire 50 per cent of the shares in Orion through expenditure of $5 million by June 30, 2027. The Mount Freda open-cut operation was the flagship of Diversified Mineral Resources from 1987 to 1991, producing around 30,000oz per annum at an average grade of 4g/t. The project was recently held by Tombola Gold, which was mining the Comstock and Shamrock pits before going into administration in 2023. Related: Urgent sale push on Tombola Gold assets AuKing said various factors had been considered as part of the mining re-commencement strategy including: The higher gold price environment requires a re-evaluation of the Mt Freda open pit design and production schedules; Learnings taken from the previous owners and operators in the region – all of whom followed good operating plans but were impacted by various factors; A wealth of available technical reports and analysis from previous operations, including the knowledge and experience of the technical personnel; and The ability (from a drilling program) to test the exploration potential of some of the high-priority targets that are situated in proximity to Mount Freda. AuKing said a key operating parameter was a mining dilution study to ensure mine design and equipment selection would minimise discrepancies between mined and processed grades and, if there were discrepancies, to allow the business to proactively adjust to the situation. Dilution was a challenge in previous operations (albeit with different owners of the mining and milling facilities) and had an adverse impact on cashflow, the company said. You may also like: https://industryqld.com.au/gold-explorers-dominate-funding-hierarchy/

Focus on Mount Freda in Cloncurry gold plans

Industry Queensland

Related News

Wet season releases advance Capricorn Copper restart goal

Quick fire – industry news briefs

Figures firm for Isaac Downs extension project

Get access to breaking mining news, now.