CRATER Gold Mining has received A$351,000 (K796,592 ) in its first sale since the installation and commissioning of its new gold processing plant in Eastern Highlands.
The high-grade zone project is at Crater Mountain, Eastern Highlands.
Crater in a statement said the processed material was largely sourced from stockpiled material derived from initial development work at the project.
Gold recovered from the stockpile was from a combination of country rock and initial development along structural veins to delineate mineralised zones of higher gold tenor. Production is expected to ramp up rapidly over the next few months as new material is sourced from the higher grade material of the central high grade gold block of the mine.
Crater PNG general manager Richard Johnson said: “Our objective of becoming a profitable, low-cost, high-margin gold producer is nearing fruition, with the upgraded processing plant now up and running.
“We are excited to have generated our cash flow following the plant upgrade and, importantly, to observe that the new plant is working to expectations. A third hammer mill is currently being installed which will allow continuous operation of two mills, substantially increasing throughput going forward.
“Our focus remains on ramping up production to full capacity over the next three months, as mining focuses on the gold rich structure(s) within the ‘central high grade’ block of the HGZ.”
Crater Mountain is located 50 kilometres southwest of Goroka. Formerly a tier-1 BHP asset, there has been in excess of 14,500 metres of diamond drilling to date.
The high-grade zone project is at Crater Mountain, Eastern Highlands.
Crater in a statement said the processed material was largely sourced from stockpiled material derived from initial development work at the project.
Gold recovered from the stockpile was from a combination of country rock and initial development along structural veins to delineate mineralised zones of higher gold tenor. Production is expected to ramp up rapidly over the next few months as new material is sourced from the higher grade material of the central high grade gold block of the mine.
Crater PNG general manager Richard Johnson said: “Our objective of becoming a profitable, low-cost, high-margin gold producer is nearing fruition, with the upgraded processing plant now up and running.
“We are excited to have generated our cash flow following the plant upgrade and, importantly, to observe that the new plant is working to expectations. A third hammer mill is currently being installed which will allow continuous operation of two mills, substantially increasing throughput going forward.
“Our focus remains on ramping up production to full capacity over the next three months, as mining focuses on the gold rich structure(s) within the ‘central high grade’ block of the HGZ.”
Crater Mountain is located 50 kilometres southwest of Goroka. Formerly a tier-1 BHP asset, there has been in excess of 14,500 metres of diamond drilling to date.