JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Following a successful first gold pour and subsequent production ramp-up, ASX-listed Doray Minerals is preparing to start near-mine exploration at its Deflector project, in the southern Murchison region of Western Australia.

Equipped with an approved $4-million maiden exploration budget, the gold miner aims to test a series of prospective targets within the Deflector tenement package, with drilling expected to start during the December quarter, after the completion of the current structural geology study of the operation’s openpit.

Doray aims to bulk up its existing mineral resource inventory at Deflector and extend the currently limited life-of-mine, along with ambitions of discovering additional “Deflector-style” gold/copper ore sources for the plant and traditional gold-only orebodies that can be treated at Deflector and Andy Well.

A programme of deep diamond drilling is planned for testing of the depth extensions to the Deflector central and western lodes, which are only drilled to a depth of about 350 m below the surface, Doray MD Allan Kelly said in a statement.

Doray also pointed to work that was under way on heritage studies required prior to the start of an reverse circulation drilling programme at the historic King Solomon-New Phoenix gold mine, which aims to test for significant extensions to the previously mined narrow-vein, high-grade gold lodes present.

“It is anticipated that heritage surveys will be completed by late-August, with drilling to commence immediately after,” the company said in an update to the market.

Further, a series of significant regional aircore drilling campaigns will be completed to test a series of new gold targets within the tenement package.

Meanwhile, following a May start, the processing and production ramp-up of the purpose-built processing plant, including gravity and flotation circuits, is progressing well and the ramp up of mill throughput is expected to be complete early in the next quarter.

“The processing plant has performed against expectations to date and the project should achieve steady state production when it completes the transition to primary ore sourced from underground,” Kelly said.

“Over the next few months, we will complete mining and processing of the oxide and transitional ore, which together comprise a small component of the overall production profile, both in terms of mining schedule and output.”