Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) is pushing ahead with its production growth strategy at the Tribune portal, with underground decline development underway and project infrastructure advancing “to plan”.
The Tribune decline, which is the sixth independent mining area, is being developed by an additional fifth jumbo and is anticipated to access ore from the Tribune lode in the December quarter of this year.
Bellevue Gold, which has a market capitalisation of $1.45 billion, says the underground development rates are scheduled to increase over the first half of financial year 2025 (FY25), as infrastructure constraints are released and more working areas become available.
Production is expected to be back-ended to the second half of FY25, as further development headings and underground advance rates ramp up to a forecast run rate of 1.35 million tonnes per year by the end of FY25.
For FY25, the production guidance is expected to be between 165,000 and 180,000 ounces at a project all-in sustaining cost of $1,750-1,850 per ounce of gold.
CEO Darren Stralow says starting Tribune is important as it provides additional mining area and haulage decline, as well as creating a platform for starting the southern drill drive to target mine life extensions.
“The key infrastructure upgrades are a core part of the Bellevue growth plan and will unlock the ability to achieve the mining rates required for increased production,” Stralow says.
“We are already seeing the benefits of increased ventilation and work areas in our underground mining rates, and the successful dewatering of the old workings unlocks high-grade ore to mine in the upcoming quarters that was previously inaccessible.”
Bellevue Gold adds that the ramp up of underground tonnages is continuing to advance, with the key ventilation upgrade currently in construction. Commissioning is due to begin on 18 September 2024.
The ventilation upgrade is expected to initially increase underground vent flows by 50% and will provide fit-for-purposes vent fans suitable for the life of mine.
Historic mine dewatering has also reached a significant milestone with the dewatering of the old workings now allowing for the removal of the safety exclusion zone from the historic underground.
Bellevue Gold says this will unlock mining of high-grade development and stoping in the Armand mining area. These two infrastructure works are anticipated to assist in de-bottlenecking the underground and allow more efficient use of the mining fleet.
The new jumbo is a fully electrified Sandvik 422iE battery EV. Bellevue says this shows its commitment to electrification of the mining fleet where practical.
Development of the Tribune decline will also set the platform for the Southern drill drive, which will allow drill testing of the main down plunge extents of the Bellevue lode system.
Bellevue Gold is an Australian gold producer focused on its namesake project — located in the Goldfields region of Western Australia — that has a current global mineral resource of 9.8 million tonnes @ 9.9 grams per tonne gold for 3.1 million ounces.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Bellevue Gold
