Pacgold (ASX:PGO) has completed its second gold pour from the White Dam Gold Project in South Australia, delivering a gold doré bar that weighs around 100 ounces.
This second gold pour represents gold from the initial aeration of both the eastern and western margins on the pad.
Pacgold has not returned any newly leached gold in leachate to the pad base since irrigation commenced on the re-crush material.
The company says ‘high-grade’ leachate has been analysed at the base of the final lift re-crush lift.
To date, a further 20,000 tonnes of material from the existing heap leach pad has been re-crushed for irrigation, with validation of the re-crush strategy already established. An additional 50,000 tonnes of material will be placed under irrigation by the end of June.
Pacgold has completed reverse circulation drilling at the Vertigo pit — a program focused on targeting a potential resource expansion and fast-tracking the restart of mining operations.
The company was originally aiming to achieve a full restart of operations by mid-2027, although it says it has the opportunity to restart in late 2026.
Drilling has moved to White Dam North, where 700m has been completed to date. Drilling is expected to be completed by mid-July.
Entech has been contracted to begin work on an updated resource estimate for Vertigo. Entech is also undertaking new pit optimisations, mine designs, and cashflow calculations.
Managing Director Matthew Boyes says the second pour brings in additional cashflow as production ramps up, which is “confirmation that the re-crushed material is now leaching good grades at the upper lift”.
“While the re-crush strategy allows us to recover near-term gold, ultimately our goal is to return to active full-scale mining and access fresh ore and new production,” Boyes says.
“Entech is updating the resource model and mine design while the follow up drill program at Vertigo aims to further grow the resource.
“Our objective now is to map out a practical, cost-effective path to restart the Vertigo pit and bring fresh oxide ore into our production profile with numbers expected in the next two to three weeks followed up straight away with permitting applications and contractor engagement.”
Pacgold will be attending the Noosa Mining Investor Conference, held between 22–24 July, at Peppers Noosa Resort, Noosa Heads, Queensland.
Mining.com.au is an official media partner of this year’s conference.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: Pacgold
