Separate ILR Pour Expected In Coming Days
Laneway Resources Limited (ASX:LNY) has successfully undertaken first gold pour in the current mining campaign from the high grade Sherwood deposit within the 100% owned Agate Creek Gold Project in North Queensland.
The initial gold pour has been undertaken sourced only from the first strips of gold recovered to CIL carbon to date through the CIL circuit of the Lorena Gold Mine Carbon in Leach (CIL) processing plant resulting in a 3.2 kg gold doré bar being poured.
Gold recovered in the Gravity and Intensive Leach Reactor (ILR) circuits will be electrowon and prepared for a separate pour in the coming days.
Approximately 4,800 tonnes of high-grade ore (grading approximately 6 g/t gold) has been mined in the current campaign with 4,400t transported from Agate Creek to the Lorena Gold Mine CIL processing plant prior to road closures caused by flooding from rainfall associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Imogen.
There is 400t of high-grade ore still at the mine ROM along with a further 7,000 tonnes of low-grade ore (grading approximately 2.5 g/t) also mined and stockpiled.
Approximately 2,200t of the high-grade parcel has been crushed and begun to be processed at the Lorena Gold Mine CIL processing plant.
The crushing and processing of the balance of Laneway’s ore at Lorena is awaiting the repair of the crushing plant supplied and operated by a third-party contractor at the Lorena site which has had a breakdown whilst crushing Laneway ore. Once the crusher has been repaired, the balance of Laneway’s ore will be crushed and processed which is expected to occur within the next two weeks.
The ore now being processed at the Lorena Gold Mine CIL processing plant is being processed at a fixed price per tonne with gold recoveries forecast at >90%.
Mining operations continue to be temporarily suspended due to localised flooding and road closures. Once mining is able to recommence, it is expected that a single cut back design will be utilised to extract the remaining ore.
Updated pit designs and scheduling is currently being undertaken to optimise the economic extraction of the remaining approximately 38,000 tonnes of ore that is planned to be mined in this current campaign. During the current mining campaign Laneway plans to extract a total of 43,000t at 6.5g/t gold (~9,000oz gold) from the Sherwood pit.
Figure 2 – Lorena Gold Mine CIL Processing Plant Processing Agate Creek Ore
Beyond this current mining campaign, the potential for further near-term high-grade mining has also been identified with one of the larger Whittle pit optimisation runs generating a much larger pit shell containing 120,000 t of high grade material at 5.7 g/t Au for 22,000 oz Au.
Mining of this larger pit shell will require amendments to the currently granted Environmental Authority conditions associated with Mining Lease 100030. Background environmental studies are being undertaken currently to allow for lodgement of the necessary EA amendments, intend to be lodged for approval during 2021.
Other activities also continue to be progressed with a view towards the longer-term, large-scale development of the project.
