PERTH (miningweekly.com) - Commissioning of the crushing circuit at the King of the Hills gold project, in Western Australia, has started, bringing developer Red 5 one step closer to production.

The ASX-listed company earlier this month marked the start of mining activities at King of the Hills, with first gold pour slated for the June quarter.

The initial mine plan for King of the Hills estimated a mine life of 16 years, with gold production in years one to six expected to average 176 000 oz/y, while peak yearly gold production of 203 000 oz/y will be achieved in 2024, benefitting from underground mining of one-million tonnes a year in years one to four.

“January has been another busy month at King of the Hills, with our construction and development teams continuing to fire on all cylinders. It’s great to see the final elements of this new, long-life gold mine rapidly taking shape, as is evident from our latest flyover video of the site,” said MD Mark Williams.

“January delivered important progress across a number of key areas at site and we are now getting to the pointy end of completion activities. Recent key milestones have included the commencement of openpit mining and the start of commissioning of the crushing circuit.”

Semi-autogenous grinding mill commissioning is expected to begin later in the March quarter once gas power is available and electrical and piping installation for the mill have been completed, Red 5 will start building ore stockpiles in advance of sending first ore to the mill.

Meanwhile, Red 5 has awarded ASX-listed MLG Oz a new contract for integrated haulage and road maintenance services to service the King of the Hills processing facility. The contract would run for an initial two years, with a one-year extension option, and is expected to increase revenues from Red 5 to MLG Oz from the current A$10-million a year to A$20-million a year.