PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Construction has started at the Second Fortune gold mine, in Western Australia, ASX-listed Exterra Resources reported on Thursday.
Site works have started, including the camp upgrade and the preparation for the mining contractor laydown area. Construction of the evaporation ponds has started, and is expected to take between four to six weeks.
The dewatering of the openpit and remnant underground workings will start on completion of construction.
“The development programme is advancing as planned and we are very pleased to be able to move into this preproduction phase on the back of the recently completed capital raising,” said executive chairperson John Davis.
A prefeasibility study into the Second Fortune operation estimates that the project will require an initial capital investment of A$5-million to deliver 56 600 oz of gold over a two-and-a-half-year mine life.
This is based on an existing Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 478 000 t, grading 8.5 g/t gold for 131 000 oz.