Name: Cowal mine.
Location: The mine is located 350 km west of Sydney, Australia.
Holding and Controlling Company: Evolution Mining.
Brief Description: The Cowal operation is an openpit mine, with production from a number of different faces within the single pit. The operation is scheduled to continue until 2025 at current estimates, with a remaining life-of-mine strip ratio of 1.75:1.
Brief History: In the 1980s exploration by North Limited defined the E41 and E42 deposits. In 1991, the E46 deposit is delineated. Four years later a feasibility study is undertaken on the E42 project.
In 2000, Rio Tinto acquires North Limited through its subsidiary North Gold. The following year Homestake Mining acquires the project from Cowal Gold. In the same year, Barrick Gold acquires the Cowal project through a merger with Homestake.
Mining of the E42 deposit starts in 2005, with processing starting in the third quarter of the following year.
In 2014, Cowal is granted a mine life extension to 2024 and in 2015 Evolution Mining acquires the Cowal gold operation.
Products: Gold.
Geology/Mineralisation: The deposit is hosted by a sequence of Ordovician volcanic rocks. These rocks are located on a major structural zone and form part of a belt of intermediate to mafic volcanic and granitic rocks that extend from Temora, in the south, to Peak Hill, in the north.
Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2015, were estimated at 99.4-million tonnes grading 0.89 g/t.
Resources: Total resources as at December 31, 2015, were estimated at 164.12-million tonnes grading at 0.96 g/t.
Mining Method: Cowal is a conventional load-and-haul, drill-and-blast openpit operation.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment: Mining is undertaken with a company-owned fleet of mining equipment. Ore is hauled by truck from the pit face to either a stockpile area or directly fed into the primary crusher
The Cowal processing plant comprises crushing, two-stage grinding, sulphide flotation, regrind and carbon-in-leach recovery. The plant currently processes 7.5-million tonnes a year.
Prospects: Results of the Cowal definition drilling programme are continuing to confirm grade distribution in the Stage H pit design, increasing resource confidence and extending the resource beyond the current pit limits.
New zones of mineralisation have been intersected to the south-west of E42 and outside of the A$1 800/oz resource limits.
Contact Person: Fivemark Partners, on behalf of Evolution Mining, Michael Vaughan.
Contact Details:
Evolution Mining
Tel +61 2 9696 2900
Fax +61 2 9696 2901
Website http://evolutionmining.com.au
Fivemark Partners
Tel +61 422 602 720