Australian company Horizon Minerals has begun hauling ore from the Boorara gold mine in Western Australia to Norton Gold Fields' Paddington plant for processing. The mine is expected to produce its first gold this month.
The investment decision to continue gold mining at the project was made in August. At that time, production plans were announced, with the first extraction expected in October. However, preparatory work has pushed the date back slightly.
The mine is expected to continue producing minerals for 14 months, with processing to be carried out at the Paddington plant for 19 months under an ore sales agreement with Norton Gold Fields.
The agreement is expected to generate $30 million in revenues based on a gold price of $2,333 per ounce. Horizon will receive 50% of the gross revenue, less estimated processing costs, within five days of delivery of the ore to the Paddington plant. The final calculation of revenue will be made once the stockpile has been fully processed.
The Boorara gold project is expected to produce approximately 1,400 ounces of gold from the initial processing of 54,380 t of ore. The gold grade (Au) in the ore is expected to be 0.8 grams per tonne (g/t) and the recovery rate is 94%.
Hélène Tarin, Editor-in-Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
