The approval includes the installation and operation of a ball mill and pre-leach thickener. Credit: assistant/Shutterstock.

Spartan Resources has secured all regulatory approvals to transition its Dalgaranga Gold Project (DGP) in Western Australia from development to full-scale underground mining.

The approvals, granted by the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety and the Department of Water and Environment Regulation, pave the way for the commencement of underground ore extraction and the introduction of new processing equipment at the existing plant.

The green light includes the installation and operation of a ball mill and pre-leach thickener, which are integral to the processing of the underground ores.

Additionally, a paste plant will be established, utilising recovered tailings to create paste-fill, which will support the underground mining operations and optimise ore extraction on each level.

The approvals also cover the re-mining of tailings from the decommissioned Gilbey’s tailings storage facility (TSF) to serve as feedstock for the paste plant.

The existing Golden Wings in-pit TSF, with a remaining capacity of approximately 23 million cubic metres, has pre-existing approvals, and the company is also authorised to dewater the now unused low-grade Gilbey’s open pit.

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Located 475km north-east of Perth and around 65km north-west of Mt Magnet, the Dalgaranga Gold Project was initially commissioned in 2028. It has been put on care and maintenance since November 2022.

Before the suspension of operations to facilitate strategic planning and financial restructuring, the mine produced 71,153oz of gold in the 2022 financial year.

Spartan interim executive chair Simon Lawson said: “All key parameters associated with the project are thoroughly understood and well managed, as we progress Dalgaranga to an operational restart based on the still growing high-grade underground Never Never and Pepper gold deposits.

“With these final approvals now in hand, we are excited to move ahead with the next phase of development of the Dalgaranga Project and advance systematically towards a production recommencement, in the process creating new jobs and boosting local communities in the Murchison Region of Western Australia.”

Last year, Spartan secured A$25m ($16.18m) in firm commitments from institutional investors through a placement to support exploration work at its Dalgaranga project.