PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Doray Minerals has started development of the Da Vinci underground operation, at its Deflector project in Western Australia.
The company has gained underground access to the Da Vinci lodes via an extension from the Deflector gold/copper mine.
“This is an exciting time at Deflector. The development into Da Vinci is providing additional high-grade production and extending the known strike length of the system,” said Doray MD Leigh Junk.
“We are looking forward to the result of the upcoming underground drilling campaign and subsequent economic assessment, which has the potential to significantly enhance the operation.”
To date, mining has followed the Da Vinci structure for around 40 m along strike to the north, since crossing through the dolerite dyke separating Da Vinci from Deflector. To date, development face grades have been encouraging, Junk said, noting that they averaged in excess of 8 g/t gold.
The current mining campaign will continue to develop on both the eastern and western lodes at Da Vinci to further expose the lodes and provide suitable drilling platforms. Following the underground development, a diamond drill rig will drill the two main structures and any incidental splays encountered to estimate an indicated mineral resource.
Following the collection of data, a prefeasibility study will be undertaken to evaluate the potential of a full-scale mining operation at Da Vinci.