Native Mineral Resources Holdings Ltd. has maintained its weekly smelting production at the Blackjack gold operations near Charters Towers in North Queensland, delivering another 283.3 ounces of gold doré in its latest September pour.
The company completed its scheduled smelt on September 22, producing three new doré bars. One bar was recovered from the plant’s gravity circuit, while two bars were recovered from the elution circuit. Final refinery assays and official gold and silver outturns for this batch remain pending.
The smelt follows confirmed refinery results from the previous September 15 smelt, which yielded an official outturn of 279.52 ounces of gold and 186.25 ounces of silver. The two bars from that pour weighed a combined 496.8 ounces, returning an average gold assay of 56.26 per cent.
Operational momentum across mining and processing sites continues to secure consistent ore feed to the central mill. At the North Pit, reverse circulation (RC) drilling passed 2,000 metres as part of a campaign that commenced in late August, with drilling scheduled for completion in October to refine geological models and mine engineering plans.
Mining operations at Mid Pit are set to recommence by week’s end following the second of three planned bench blasts designed to open additional ore faces. Meanwhile, open-pit extraction at Podosky completed the 267.5 RL bench and advanced to the 257.5 RL bench, with two further production blasts planned for next week.
Native Mineral Resources Managing Director and CEO Blake Cannavo noted the ongoing consistency of the operations, stating that the focus remains on sustaining weekly gold production while advancing new mining faces to feed the Blackjack processing facility.
“Activity continues across our mining areas, with mining progressing at Podosky, preparations underway to recommence mining at Mid Pit, and more than 2,000 metres of RC drilling now completed at North Pit,” he said.
