PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Red 5 has processed first ore through the 4.7-million-tonne-a-year King of the Hills plant, in Western Australia.
The ASX-listed company told shareholders on Thursday that the processing would initially focus on low-grade development ore, sourced primarily from Stage 1 of the KOTH openpit and existing stockpiles, while final commissioning of the processing circuit was completed.
First gold from the processing plant would be poured shortly.
“This is a key milestone for King of the Hills, delivered on time and on budget, and puts us on track for first gold production in the near future. I am very proud of the achievements to date of our construction and operations teams during these unprecedented market conditions,” Red 5 MD Mark Williams said.
“The King of the Hills processing plant will become a highly efficient processing hub for our operations in the Leonora district, enabling Red 5 to deliver a significant step-change in our business.
“We are delighted to have commenced processing operations, and we look forward to delivering our next key milestone of first gold.”
Mining is ongoing in both the King of the Hill openpit and underground mines, with the third openpit fleet now ramping up.