Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed Native Mineral Resources (NMR) has announced that it is expediting the revival of gold mining at its Queensland sites, following the acquisition of the Far Fanning and BlackJack gold deposits for A$18.9m ($12.3m).
Earlier this month, NMR secured a binding agreement for the acquisition, including the BlackJack processing plant and related assets.
This strategic move is expected to bolster NMR's production capabilities and resource growth prospects and offer an accelerated path to production.
The company's recent selective sampling at Far Fanning yielded high-grade gold results of up to 85.1 grams per tonne (g/t) and 45 samples assaying more than 0.5g/t.
In response, NMR has commenced drilling to enhance the deposit's inferred mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 2.3 million tonnes at 1.84g/t of gold, equating to 138,000oz, to an indicated status.
NMR's ongoing sampling efforts have collected 75 samples thus far, confirming gold mineralisation. Approximately 220,000 tonnes of stockpiled material are pending further analysis and processing.
Mining Associates has been appointed to manage the drilling programme and provide expert advice on drilling locations and tactics.
The infill drilling at Far Fanning is due to be completed by early 2025, with an updated MRE to be announced following the assessment of drilling outcomes.
In parallel with drilling, NMR is evaluating the BlackJack processing plant's infrastructure to decide between refurbishment or replacement to meet the company's gold production goals.
NMR managing director Blake Cannavo said: “Since announcing our acquisition of this project in early November and following the completion of the placement last week, we are accelerating our work as we look to leverage the advanced status of the Far Fanning and BlackJack projects to transform the company into an emerging Queensland gold producer in 2025.
“Far Fanning’s stockpiled material and existing JORC 2012 MRE provides us with a strong foundation on which to achieve this goal and we are excited about its potential.
“While completing drilling that aims to upgrade the confidence in the MRE, we are also sampling stockpiled material on-site, which will then be crushed, screened and sorted, and has the potential to be processed at the BlackJack processing plant.”
