Auric Mining (ASX:AWJ) is expecting to begin stage two of mining at its Jeffreys Find Gold Mine near Norseman in Western Australia March 2024.
The $15.7 million market capitalisation company says through its joint venture (JV) with BML Ventures, a grade control drilling program over a potential final pit started on 11 January and was completed on 15 January.
Auric reports once results are received, BML will finalise its modelling of a stage two pit ahead of the mobilisation of equipment to the mine site in February 2024.
However, Auric notes that while final numbers are not yet decided, it will mine ‘substantially’ more tonnes of gold ore in 2024 compared to 2023.
For 2024, the design of the pit design will be based on a gold price of $2,900 per ounce compared to $2,600 over 2023.
The current gold price is around $3,070 an ounce.
Auric has paid $1 million as a working capital contribution to BML. Further to this payment, BML is incurring and paying all additional mining costs and expenses.
Once the final phase of mining is complete, both partners will subtract all costs before splitting the surplus cash proceeds on a 50:50 basis.
Auric Mining Managing Director Mark English says mining is expected to last between 9 and 12 months.
“We have hit the ground running in 2024. Grade control drilling by BML Ventures Pty Ltd is complete, with samples at the laboratory. It won’t be long before mining gets underway at what promises to be another rewarding chapter for Auric.
“It won’t be long before mining gets underway at what promises to be another rewarding chapter for Auric”
Our partner, BML of Kalgoorlie, is waiting on assay results before finalising the parameters for a final pit. Mining is anticipated to last between 9 and 12 months.
All approvals to mine are in place, and BML are in final negotiations with a toll mill for the processing of multiple gold campaigns throughout 2024.
Jeffreys Find is a straightforward deposit. We do not expect any surprises. Our second gold campaign of 2023 averaged 1.93g/t. With the AUD gold price remaining above $3,000 per ounce, a similar or better result on stage two of Jeffreys Find would be a terrific result for Auric.”
Auric Mining is a gold explorer and developer based in Western Australia.
Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au
Images: Auric Mining
