PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Matilda gold project, in Western Australia, has poured its first gold, making Blackham Resources Western Australia's newest gold producer.
“We are delighted at reaching the milestone in just 16 months from completing our funding deal with Orion Mine Finance,” Blackham CEO Alan Thom said on Tuesday.
Plant optimisation of both throughput and recovery is under way, with a view to maximising plant performance. Mining from the openpit and underground has contributed to stockpiles greater than five weeks mill feed.
Blackham told shareholders that the company was focused on ramp-up to full commercial production of 98 000 oz/y over a mine life of nearly five years.
Having progressed to Stage 1 gold production, Blackham is fast-tracking the Stage 2 expansion study, aimed at increasing output to between 175 000 oz/y and 230 000 oz/y.