Evolution Mining Limited has announced that the Cowal Gold Operation near West Wyalong in NSW has been granted regulatory approval from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment to commence construction of the Galway-Regal-E46 (GRE46) exploration decline.
The decline will allow Evolution to conduct further resource definition and discovery drilling following the announcement in April 2018 of a maiden GRE46 underground Mineral Resource of 5.9 Million tonnes, at 3.17 grams per tonne for 603,000 ounces of gold. It will also facilitate further drilling and delineation of the recently discovered high-grade Dalwhinnie Lode.
Dalwhinnie Lode high-grade drilling results previously released include:
▪ 3m (2.3m etw) grading 69.9 grams per tonne of gold from 883m (1535DD331H)
▪ 6m (4.5m etw) grading 67.3 grams per tonne of gold from 687m (E46D3219)
▪ 1m (0.8m etw) grading 38.0 grams per tonne of gold from 774m (E46D3171)
In an announcement last Friday (26 October), Evolution stated that development is expected to commence early in the March 2019 quarter and will involve capital expenditure of approximately A$20 – A$22 million over FY19 and FY20. A further investment in underground drilling of A$6 – A$7 million is also expected to be spent on an initial 36,000-metre drill program.
Evolution’s VP Discovery and Chief Geologist, Glen Masterman, said that this is another important step towards achieving Evolution’s objective of increasing Cowal’s production rate to over 300,000 ounces per annum on a sustainable basis.
“As indicated by recent drilling results, we are excited about the potential to add significant underground resources of high-grade material over a long strike length,” he said.
More information on the project can be found here.
