PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Ramelius Resources has reported a maiden ore reserve of 418 000 t, grading 4.1 g/t gold for 56 000 oz of contained gold at its Kathleen Valley gold project, in Western Australia.
Recent infill drilling at the project has also resulted in a 24% increase in the total mineral resource at Kathleen Valley, which now stood at 1.84-million tonnes, grading 2.8 g/t gold for 163 000 oz of contained gold.
“This is further good news for Ramelius following the recently announced improved performance at our Mt Magnet operations and the high-grade gold intersections at our Blackmans project,” said CEO Mark Zeptner.
He noted that at above 4 g/t reserve grade, the Kathleen Valley project could potentially represent a relatively high-grade openpit operation for Ramelius, which would be more than capable of being trucked to the Checker gold mill, at the Mt Magnet operation.
“Capital costs for the project are expected to be minimal, and importantly, the shallow nature of the Mossbecker deposit will facilitate early gold production and cash flow,” Zeptner said.
A full feasibility study on the Kathleen Valley mine was due shortly.
Ramelius acquired the project in September last year from Xstrata Nickel Australasia Operations, a subsidiary of major Glencore.