White Rock Minerals Limited (ASX: WRM) has obtained ongoing high-grade gold results from recent along strike exploration drilling from the McNally Reef at the Morning Star Underground Gold Mine in Victoria, Australia.
White Rock has completed an extensional diamond drilling programme along strike from historic McNally Reef mining. The McNally Reef was the focus of the most recent underground mining activity at Morning Star, in production between January and September 2020, which saw approximately 7,600t at a grade of 12.3g/t gold processed through the mill, with an estimated 3,000 ounces recovered. This gold grade puts the Morning Star Gold Mine in the Top Five high-grade gold mines in Australia.
White Rock is completing pre-production activities which have included an extensional drilling program targeting the McNally Reef to the north and south along strike of the 2020 mining activity. It completed 18 drillholes for 1,392m of diamond drilling.
Drilling highlights include:
• 0.3m @ 222g/t Au from 77.1m (22MNL9016) (true width 0.3m).
• 0.4m @ 35.9g/t Au from 78.2m (22MNL9017) (true width 0.3m).
• 0.2m @ 312g/t Au from 88.7m (22MNL0918) (true width 0.1m).
This drilling has highlighted a potentially significant high-grade gold zone to the south, close to existing development. On-reef mining of the McNally Reef has already commenced.
White Rock’s commitment to re-commencing gold production at the Morning Star Underground Gold Mine has seen the commencement of pre-production development at the McNally Reef, with underground development and rising being conducted.
Development has focused on establishing access to the lower (eastern) levels of the McNally Reef on 7 level and 8 Level, material movement infrastructure with strike driving along the reef, and the establishment of access to the Dickenson Reef in the upper Dickenson project area on 4 level.
The mining activities are focused on delivering high grade tonnes to the gold plant for processing, sourced from multiple working faces underground across multiple mining areas. White Rock has identified up to five such mining areas to date.
Narrow vein mining techniques are being employed to reduce the amount of waste rock mined and processed. This ensures that the gold feed grade is as high as possible for the processing plant. Split face firing and benched drive development techniques are being utilised to reduce gold grade dilution, by firing the reef and waste separately.
This selective mining technique aims to reduce the amount of waste rock hauled and processed without reducing recovered gold. Material movement and haulage routes are being optimised, with the purchase of additional mining equipment2 allowing greater flexibility and productivity in materials handling and movement.
Multiple mining fronts within multiple mining areas also add flexibility to the mining schedule allowing resources to be deployed and optimised appropriately.
White Rock has commenced gold processing plant pre-production commissioning works with start-up commissioning material (low grade) being processed. Optimisation works and process reviews are being undertaken to improve the overall plant performance.
Piping, screens and crushing units have all been stripped, refurbished and improved in preparation for upcoming higher-grade material processing. Initial gold production remains on track for Q3 2022, moving White Rock into the league of gold producers.
For further information please visit: https://www.whiterockminerals.com.au/
