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December 2007 Quarterly Report |
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Click here for PDF File (112K) |
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| HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE QUARTER
OPERATIONAL - BEACONSFIELD GOLD MINE
CORPORATE
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1. BEACONSFIELD GOLD MINE
1.1.1 Safety and Health

MRIFR (Medically Referred Injury Frequency Rate - number of injuries per million man hours)
There were two Lost Time Injuries and four Medical Treatment Injuries in the December 2007 Quarter.
The Case for Safety in respect of Ore Production from the Western Zone was
accepted by the Chief Inspector of Mines on 28 September 2007, and the final
notice preventing mining was rescinded. There are now no regulatory restrictions
on full mining activities in all areas of the mine, other than the prevailing
legislation that applies to all mining operations in Tasmania.
1.1.2 Mining
The re-commissioning of underground operations was completed late in the
quarter with the establishment of footwall drives to provide access to drill and
fire the first stoping panel. Stoping in the Western Zone is based on a
non-entry method of mining utilising footwall drives to provide drill and loader
access whilst keeping all personnel remote from the orebody during stoping. A
full mining cycle of remote drilling, charging, firing, bogging and backfilling
was successfully completed on the 915/930 m level stoping block. The new Simba
M4C longhole drilling rig is delivering improved drilling accuracy, with remote
laser scanning of the blasted void showing minimal unplanned dilution.
Waste development continued throughout the quarter with 46 metres of
capital development and 307 metres of operating level development advanced,
including the establishment of footwall drives on the 915 and 930 m levels.
The completion of the next set of footwall drives that access the high
grade Western Zone below the 930m level and down to the 980m level is now being
pursued as a priority. Once completed, a second high grade production area will
be made available, allowing greater mining flexibility and continuity of supply
of high grade ore to the mill. This development is scheduled to be completed in
March 2008.
An additional twin boom jumbo has been sourced from a contractor to
accelerate short-term development rates in the hangingwall diamond drill drive
and the decline whilst the development of footwall drives on the lower levels of
the Western Zone are completed. The additional development crew is expected to
start in February 2008.
Sill driving in the Eastern Zone continued to define better results than
indicated by the previous diamond drilling, resulting in an upgrade to the
resource model and significantly increased reserve tonnages. Planning work will
now take place to identify opportunities to lift the mining rate and utilise
spare capacity in the processing plant with the aim of increasing annual gold
production.
During the quarter, 30,163 tonnes of ore were hoisted (26,578 tonnes
previous quarter).
1.1.3 Ore Treatment Plant
The ore treatment plant operated throughout the quarter on a campaign basis
while the mine was being recommissioned, treating 29,584 tonnes of ore (28,975
tonnes previous quarter) to produce 7,663 ounces of gold (5,180 ounces
previous quarter). All areas of the plant performed well, including the
bacterial leach circuit.
1.2 EXPENDITURE
Operating expenditure for the mine during the quarter totalled $11.4
million, of which the great majority related to the recommissioning of the
mine.
The Federal Government has assisted in the safe re-opening of the mine by
providing a grant of $4.9 million through the Beaconsfield Community Fund, of
which $4.8 million had been received by the end of December, including payments
totalling $0.3 million during the quarter. The grant provides assistance with
supernumerary payroll costs, development of the decline to access the F21 zone
and diamond drilling for additional resources.
1.3 ORE RESERVES/RESOURCES
An updated Resource and Reserve Statement was released in early January
2008. The reported Identified Mineral Resource for the Tasmania Reef at
Beaconsfield, Tasmania as at 30 November 2007 was:
| Measured Resource Indicated Resource Inferred Resource |
307,000t @ 17.8g/t Au (175,000 ounces contained gold) 503,000t @ 15.1g/t Au (244,000 ounces contained gold) 63,000t @ 12.2g/t Au (25,000 ounces contained gold) |
| Total Resource | 873,000t @ 15.8g/t Au (446,000 ounces contained gold) |
This resource estimate resulted from:
| Proved Reserve Probable Reserve |
392,000t @ 12.0g/t Au (151,000 ounces contained gold) 703,000t @ 8.6g/t Au (194,000 ounces contained gold) |
| Total Reserve | 1,095,000t @ 9.8g/t Au (346,000 ounces contained gold) |
The previous Total Reserve as at 31 December 2005 was estimated as 506,000 tonnes at 14.3g/t Au (233,000 ounces contained gold).
Contained gold has increased by 113,000 ounces (48%). Allowing for reserve
depletion from mine production (estimated to be 44,000 ounces), the increase is
157,000 ounces (67%).
A further exercise is planned to examine if the cut-off assumption of 6g/t,
which has been used for a number of years, should be reduced in light of the
current strength of the gold price.
A diamond drilling program has been planned to further increase gold
resources by testing the Tasmania Reef below the F21 Zone over 300 vertical
metres between 1200 and 1500 metres depth from surface. A drill drive is
currently under development on the 1090m level to provide access for two diamond
drill rigs and drilling with the first rig is planned to commence as soon as a
suitable cuddy becomes available. The second rig will commence when the drive
is completed, expected to be during the June 2008 quarter.
2. EXPLORATION
2.1 BEACONSFIELD REGIONAL EXPLORATION
2.2 STAVELY PROJECT, WESTERN VICTORIA
Drilling of the Thursdays Gossan supergene chalcocite-blanket copper prospect has been deferred until March 2008 after the drill rig that had been secured was delayed by flooding in NSW. The aircore program will aim to bring the previously identified mineralisation to resource status as well as targeting the extension of the mineralisation to the south.
A soil sampling program has also been designed to extend the nearby large
Fair View gold anomaly.
3. CORPORATE
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