Cannon holds 23 580oz - Southern Gold

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A new mineral resource at the Cannon gold mine, in Western Australia, could assist ASX-listed Southern Gold in establishing a development model for an underground operation.

Southern Gold on Monday reported a total mineral resource of 142 270 t, grading 5.17 g/t gold for 23 580 oz of contained gold.

“An evaluation of the Cannon underground resource is now under way to assess the potential for a mineable reserve and to evaluate a suitable cost model to the company,” MD Simon Mitchell said.

He noted that the high confidence of the Cannon mineralisation, the good history of ore reconciliation with the now fully-mined openpit, and good geological understanding pointed to the underground inventory being a small, but high-quality resource.

“Taken with the proximity to Kalgoorlie and the presence of many contractors with experience in underground operations in the Eastern Goldfields, there is every confidence that Cannon will move into its next mining phase.”

Mitchell said that the company’s technical team was confident that the Cannon mineralisation below the openpit could convert to cash flow.

“Over the next few months, the company will investigate ways to do that and will keep an open mind on the development model. The mineral resource announced today displays consistent high grades and good widths that should result, on current indicators, in very profitable underground mining.”