PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior Crater Gold Mining on Tuesday told shareholders that gold mining at its High Grade Zone mine, at its Crater Mountain project, in Papua New Guinea, would be accelerated with the installation and commissioning of a new custom-made gold processing plant.
“This marks an important milestone for the company as we transition from [being] a developer to a gold producer,” said MD Russ Parker.
“This newly installed processing plant enables us to work towards full production in the near-term and is expected to deliver strong cash flows on high margins going forward. This, in turn, will allow us to fund further development at the High Grade Zone mine and exploration activities at our other assets.”
Crater was expected to produce some 10 000 oz of gold in the first full year of production at the High Grade Zone mine.
Parker said on Tuesday that, while the company’s current focus remained on the High Grade Zone mine, there remained potential to increase the current Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant resource of 24-million tonnes, grading 1 g/t gold for 790 000 oz of gold, at the nearby Mixing Zone project at Crater Mountain.
“Our recent discovery at the South Artisan Workings Zone also highlights the potential for additional mineralisation in close proximity to the High Grade Zone mine and a potentially longer mine life operation.”