Blackham output stays steady in Sept Q

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Junior gold miner Blackham Resources has delivered another solid quarter of production for the three months to September, with production on par compared with the previous quarter.

Gold production for the quarter ended September reached 15 619 oz, compared with the 15 720 oz delivered in the previous quarter, with the Golden Age underground mine, in Western Australia, delivering a record 6 302 oz during the three months.

Blackham on Friday reported that the company had sold 15 850 oz of gold during the September quarter, at an average price of A$1 601/oz.

Meanwhile, C1 cash cost reduced to A$1 390/oz during the quarter, compared with the A$1 439/oz reported in the previous quarter, with further reductions expected in future as production at the Western Australian operations improved.

In August, Blackham announced the results of a preliminary feasibility study (PFS) into the expansion of the Matilda/Wiluna operations, to more than 200 000 oz/y of gold.

The expanded operation will be developed through the construction of a new crushing and grinding circuit to increase throughput by 1.5-million tonnes to 3.3-million tonnes a year, the construction of a new flotation circuit, the refurbishment of the existing sulphide treatment plant, and the construction of a new carbon-in-leach circuit.

The expansion PFS focuses on the Wiluna openpits and underground operations, while incorporating the existing Matilda, Quartz Reef and Lake Way reserves and mining inventory.

The PFS estimates that the expansion will cost some A$113.9-million and will deliver an initial 1.47-million ounces over an initial nine years, averaging 207 000 oz/y.

A definitive feasibility study on the expansion was well advanced, Blackham said on Friday, and is expected to be fully completed by the end of the June quarter next year.