JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Thunderbox gold project, in Western Australia, has poured its first gold, paving the way for owner Saracen Minerals to double its production rate to about 300 000 oz/y.
The first gold pour at Thunderbox comes about ten months after the board approved the development, which Saracen reported on Friday was ahead of schedule and under budget.
The company funded the $65-million Thunderbox development from internal cash flows generated by its Carosue Dam project, also in Western Australia.
Saracen reported that commissioning continued with the plant fully operational and ramping-up to nameplate capacity of 2.5-million tons a year. About 210 000 t of commissioning ore, grading 0.9 g/t, was currently stockpiled on the run-of-mine pad.
Beyond the initial openpit mine life of about five years, Thunderbox had promising underground potential. Drilling planned for later in 2016 would aim to define a long-term underground mine, which would potentially extend the project life beyond ten years.
“Thunderbox gives us the level of production and cash flow sought after by international investors, while enabling us to remain debt-free,” Saracen MD Raleigh Finlayson said.
“The potential ten-year mine life of Thunderbox and the exploration upside at both Thunderbox and Carosue Dam means we have a sustainable production profile with strong growth prospects,” he added.