Red 5 Limited (ASX: RED) has confirmed that it remains on track for first gold production at its 100%-owned 2.4Moz, 16-year life-of-mine King of the Hills (KOTH) Gold Project in Western Australia next quarter.
The company has recently achieved further key construction and operational readiness milestones and Red 5’s mining business partner, Macmahon, has now commenced open pit mining and is operating with two fleets and supporting equipment.
Red 5 also now has its site leadership team in place, with overall recruitment 93% complete.
Key construction progress during February 2022 included:
• Commissioning of the crushing circuit has commenced, with the initial no-load operation of the crusher and conveyor belts now complete;
• The gas pipeline has been installed, hydrotested and is scheduled for commissioning by mid-March 2022;
• Commissioning of the power station and battery storage facility is ongoing and installation of the solar farm is underway; and
• Piping and electrical installation for the SAG mill and leach circuit is ongoing.
SAG mill commissioning is expected to begin later this month once electrical and piping installation for the mill has been completed.
KOTH Site Leadership Appointments
Red 5 and Macmahon have assembled a highly experienced management team for the KOTH operation, with key members of the site leadership team comprising:
• Neal Valk (General Manager Operations) – Mr Valk is an experienced industry General Manager with a proven track record in commencing and successfully operating copper-gold and base metal mines. He has held numerous General Manager roles, including at the Peak Gold Mine (Aurelia Metals), Osborne Mines (Ivanhoe Mines/Barrick), the Porgera Gold Mine in PNG (Barrick) and the Mt Lyell Copper Mine (CMT).
• Craig Hatch (Operations Manager) – Mr Hatch is an experienced Mining Engineer whose previous roles have included Mining Manager for BHP Nickel West, Technical Services Manager for Khoemacau Copper Mining’s Zone 5 Copper Mine in Botswana and Underground Mining Manager at the St Ives Gold Mine in Western Australia (Goldfields). The Operations Manager will alternate with the General Manager to oversee all operational activities centred around the KOTH Hub.
• Andrew McRae (Mining Manager – Open Pit) – Mr McRae is a Mining Engineer who has held several senior technical and management roles over the past ten years, including at Evolution Mining’s Cowal Gold Mine in New South Wales and senior roles at iron ore operations at Koolan Island and Koolyanobbing in Western Australia.
• Oliver Keene (Mining Manager – Underground) – Mr Keene is a Mining Engineer who has held several underground mine manager roles, including at the King of the Hills underground operation (from 2019 – 2020), the Andy Well Gold Mine (Doray Minerals) and the Cosmos Nickel Mine (Xstrata Nickel).
• Malcolm Cowcill (Project Manager – KOTH, Macmahon) – Mr Cowcill is an experienced Project Manager who has held several key roles for Macmahon, NRW and BGC Contracting for both surface and underground mining. Mr Cowcill will oversee Macmahon’s open pit and underground mining activities at KOTH.
“We’re continuing to deliver against our key milestones at King of the Hills as we approach first gold production next quarter,” Red 5 Managing Director, Mark Williams, said.
“Our plant commissioning and mining programs are proceeding on schedule and within budget, with the operation now entering the final stages of the construction and commissioning process.
“Given the current widespread labour shortages being experienced across Western Australia, I am particularly pleased that we have been able to assemble such an experienced and well-credentialled site management team, led by our General Manager Operations, Neal Valk.
“This team has an outstanding breadth of experience across all aspects of site operations, and are now on the ground to oversee the start of production from this major new gold operation.
“With open pit mining now underway and the crusher circuit switched on, I encourage our shareholders to watch our latest flyover video to get a sense of the impressive scale of this world-class operation.”
For further information please visit: https://www.red5limited.com/site/content/
