The NSW Division of Resources and Energy and the NSW Department of Trade and Investment have reportedly accepted development plans for a gold mine at Hargraves.
Hill End Gold released information on Thursday showing plans for an open-pit mine removing 300,000 tonnes of earth a year with processing facilities and infrastructure.
The acceptances and plans released to the Australian Securities Exchange as part of Hill End Gold’s quarterly report, suggest the company will now move to apply for a mining lease at the Hargraves Gold Project site.
Hill End Gold, the NSW Division of Resources and Energy and the NSW Department of Trade and Investment have met to discuss the conceptual plans.
According to Hill End Gold no technical impediments were identified at the meeting that would prevent the Hargraves mining proposal proceeding.
The Hargraves Gold Project is about 30 kilometres south-west of Mudgee.
Based on pre-development studies, a mine would recover 1.2 million tonnes with an average grade of 2.5 grams of gold per tonne.
Hill End Gold said on Thursday two initial open pits are proposed to be mined at a combined production of 300,000 tonnes a year. One pit would run over the “Central” area of the mine site and the second over the “Southern” area.
“The Southern Pit will be approximately 70 metres deep and the Central one about 165 metres deep. There is excellent potential for extensions to the current pit optimisation design,” the company’s release said.
“Hill End Gold will be working with all stakeholders in the coming quarter to identify social and environmental issues of concern that can be addressed as part of the assessment and approval process.”
The company also revealed on Thursday it had started to explore the surface of Boiga – a 23 square-kilometre exploration licence to the south-east of Big Nugget Hill where the Hargraves Gold Project lies.
According to the company Boiga is aimed at identifying a resource that could support the Hargraves project.
“The Boiga area is the site of surface mining activity focused on a number of quartz veins up to one metre thick in the late 1800s, but not records of mining were kept and no modern exploration has been undertaken. Several alluvial nuggets were discovered in the area in 1897,” the report said.
Work has also started on a review of Hill End Gold’s Red Hill Deposit as part of a study to extend the Hargraves Project.
The original article can be found at the following link:
http://www.mudgeeguardian.com.au/story/2061006/gold-mine-plans-announced/
