Kidman Resources efforts to restart production at the recently acquired Burbank’s gold mine, located in Coolgardie, Western Australia, are running ahead of schedule and budget for June. As a result, Kidman said it remains firmly on track to achieve its objective of commencing gold production during the third quarter.
In the past, the property has produced more than 360,000 oz per year (oz/y) of gold. Current production plans call for ore sourced from both the Christmas open pit and Birthday Gift underground mine. Kidman recently completed a reverse circulation drilling program in the Christmas open pit and is now awaiting a JORC- Compliant Mineral Resource estimate.
In addition, the company has been actively preparing the Birthday Gift underground mine for production since it was acquired. It is accessed via a portal in the Lady Robinson open pit, which lies adjacent to the Christmas open pit.
Access to the Birthday Gift orebody has been achieved on multiple levels and ore stockpiling on the surface ROM pad has commenced in preparation for the first milling campaign. The focus for the coming months will be to advance the ore and waste headings and establish areas for stoping in subsequent months. A number of lodes have been accessed, which will provide added flexibility to the production schedule. These include the Tailor, Dahmu and the high-grade Jesson lode.
Decline development has also recommenced from the 1266 level, which will provide diamond drilling platforms to target the ore lodes below historical mining levels. The decline is currently 90 vertical m above the historic 7 level where historical sampling along the Jesson lode returned results of 30 m at 18.3g/mt Au, 1.5 m width and 76.1 m at 17.4g/mt Au, 1.1 m width. The decline remains a priority heading and will be advanced in parallel to the ore and waste headings in the upper levels.
In early June, Kidman upgraded the primary ventilation circuit in the Birthday Gift underground mine. This upgrade was completed successfully within 12 days and will enable additional equipment and personnel to be deployed underground working on multiple level horizons. On the surface, significant earthworks have been undertaken in preparation for delivery of new office, change house and ablution facilities to accommodate the workforce. Recruitment of the underground workforce continues and is now 90% complete.
