PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining and processing operations have started at the Talang Santo openpit gold/silver project, in Indonesia, following the receipt of environmental approval earlier this month.
ASX-listed Kingsrose Mining MD Paul Jago said on Thursday that the Talang Santo pit was already performing beyond expectations, and with a more informed interpretation expected as the pit deepened, the mine life could be extended well beyond the current estimate.
Talang Santo is expected to have an initial mine life of 22 months, with ore from the operation to be processed in conjunction with the Way Linggo opencut ore at the Way Linggo processing facility.
Stage 1 pit waste pre-stripping started in early November last year and high-grade mineralisation has been encountered just 1 m below the surface, confirming the Mawi and Hanging Wall quartz veins encountered in the old underground workings continued to near-surface.
An extensive grade control trenching programme is now under way to identify the extent of the near-surface mineralisation with the current pit design.