Australia's Broken Hill pours third doré bar ahead of White Dam restart
ASX-listed Broken Hill Gold has successfully achieved a third gold pour at the White Dam copper/gold project, in South Australia, with 5.43 kg, or 174 oz, of doré having been shipped for assay and processing at Perth Mint.
The company has also completed the construction of a new carbon-in-column tank to replace an existing tank on the processing circuit, along with upgrades to the gold room facility.
“Achieving our third gold pour at White Dam is another fantastic milestone, confirming the ongoing value we can unlock from the existing heap leach ore while generating near-term cashflow.
"As we progress plant refurbishments and upgrading our gold room, we are taking a proactive, disciplined approach to addressing historical infrastructure limitations. Pausing irrigation in late October to complete a full reline of the collection channels and solution ponds will rectify age-related degradation and legacy design faults, ensuring our operating containment systems are robust and compliant with modern standards and won’t require further investment moving forward once mining restarts," says Broken Hill MD Matthew Boyes.
He adds that with the White Dam plant's 3.5-million-tonne pad expansion design now delivered and ready for tender, Broken Hill is rapidly positioning White Dam for a seamless restart.
The company expects to reach a final investment decision early next year, subject to the outcomes of a prefeasibility study to restart the Vertigo pit. Drilling is underway to collect samples for column leach testwork on Vertigo East and Vertigo North, with initial pit design work now forecast to be completed during October.
