JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Crater Gold Mining’s general manager for Papua New Guinea, Richard Johnson, said on Tuesday that the company’s objective of becoming a profitable, low-cost, high-margin gold producer was nearing fruition, with the High Grade Zone (HGZ) project’s upgraded processing plant now operational.
Crater reported that it had sold its first gold since installing and commissioning a new custom-made gold processing plant at the HGZ, at Crater Mountain, earning the company $351 000.
The new plant had high-speed centrifugal concentrators and secondary shaking tables, which were more efficient than the previous test plant.
Johnson said that a third hammer mill was currently being installed, which would allow continuous operation of two mills, substantially increasing throughput going forward.
The processed material was largely sourced from stockpiled material derived from initial development work at the HGZ project.
“Our focus remains on ramping up production to full capacity over the next three months, as mining focuses on the gold-rich structures within the central high-grade block of HGZ,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Crater stated that there was potential to increase the Joint Ore Reserve Committee-compliant resource of 24-million tonnes at 1 g/t gold for 790 000 oz at the nearby Mixing Zone project, at Crater Mountain.
Crater Mountain is a former tier-one BHP Billiton asset.