PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian Department of Mines and Petroleum has given ASX-listed Vector Resources the green light to develop its Gwendolyn East gold project.

The mining proposal for the Gwendolyn East cutback project was submitted in December last year, and Vector said that the company had also now obtained the necessary permits to clear native vegetation for the project.

The key approval and permits meant that the company was now in a position to finalise the review of its mining options and progress towards the awarding of contracts, in order to start production and cash flow.

Vector told shareholders that it was reviewing a number of options for the Gwendolyn project, including a Phase 1 high-grade toll treatment operation, which would have a low capital cost and would generate an early cash flow.

The toll treatment strategy was based on four separate openpits along strike of the main mineralised corridor, with each deposit being mined to a depth of around 30 m to 40 m below surface. Gold ore would be stockpiled on the run-of-mine pad, and then transported to the toll processing facility.

The Phase 1 toll treatment operation would enable Vector to compare the projected volumes and grades to the amount of recovered metal, processed ore and other key benchmarks, the company said, which would establish a set of data parameters that would give the company greater understanding of the project’s mineralogy.

Phase 2 of the project would then be based on mining the oxide pits to some 75 m depth, linking the four pits of the first phase into a single openpit operation.

Ore would again be stockpiled and transported for processing.

During Phase 2, Vector would likely review the total metal balance and reconciliations of the project to further improve its knowledge of the geology and resource.

This work would provide a clear indication of the potential Phase 3 operations, including extending the openpit operations, or the potential for a future underground mine.

The Gwendolyn project is currently estimated to host some 214 500 oz of gold, of which 157 391 oz has been classified as indicated and 57 109 oz as inferred.