Overview
Status | Closing / Closed |
Mine Type | Underground |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
- Narrow reef drill & blast
- Cemented paste backfill
|
Production Start | ... |
Re-commenced gold production at Morning Star gold mine (part of Woods Point Gold Project) in October 2022. First gold bar poured in October and first on site bar in early December 2022.
As advised in ASX Announcement on 21 March 2023, due to a lack of funds, the Directors of White Rock Minerals Limited placed the Morning Star Gold Mine into a care and maintenance phase while they assessed the strategy for the project. After a further period where a process to sell the asset was unsuccessful, it was further decided to close the mine altogether.
Since closure, most of the plant and equipment making up the assets of MSG have been sold, but overall, the returns have been disappointing. Additionally, MSG has received several notices from the various Regulators.
MSG does not have the means to lodge the increased bond, nor deal appropriately with the alleged environmental issues. |
Source:
p. 1
Morning Star Gold NL (MSG) is a 95% owned subsidiary of AuStar Gold Limited, which in turn is a 100% owned subsidiary of White Rock Minerals Limited (WRM), with the remaining 5% of MSG held by a number of other shareholders. Liam Bellamy and Trajan John Kukulovski of RRI Advisory, Melbourne, were appointed Joint Administrators of MSG on 10 Oct 2023.
MSG holds two mining and two exploration leases in Victoria, including the Morning Star Gold Mine. The Company determined not to formulate a proposal for MSG to execute a Deed of Company Arrangement. In the absence of a DOCA proposal, the Administrators recommended to creditors that MSG be placed into Liquidation. At a meeting of creditors on 14 Nov 2023 the motion to wind up MSG was passed. WRM has exercised its rights as senior secured creditor over the assets of MSG.
Due to the significant environmental bond increases at project, the directors had no option other than to place MSG into Voluntary Administration.
Contractors
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Deposit Type
- Vein / narrow vein
- Hydrothermal
Summary:
The Morning Star area lies within the Woods Point – Walhalla Synclinorium structural domain of the Melbourne zone, a northwest-trending belt of tightly folded Early Devonian Walhalla Group sandy turbidites. The domain is bounded by the Enoch’s Point and Howe’s Creek Faults, both possible detachmentrelated splay structures that may have controlled the intrusion of the Woods Point Dyke Swarm and provided the conduits for gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids. The local structural zone is referred to as the Ross Creek Shear Zone (RSZ).
Most gold mineralisation in the Woods Point to Gaffney’s Creek corridor occurs as structurally-controlled quartz ladder vein systems hosted by dioritic dyke bulges. The Morning Star Gold Mine exhibits all these characteristics.
The mine exhibits narrow quartz vein deposits hosted in a diorite dyke that is 700m long by 120m wide. The quartz veins are stacked and range up to 2m thick. The dyke has been mined to a depth of 920m with the dyke open at depth below 1,000 vertical metres.
Mining Methods
- Narrow reef drill & blast
- Cemented paste backfill
Summary:
Morning Star is a historic underground gold mine. AuStar Gold acquired Morning Star Gold NL (MCO) in 2015. At the time of the acquisition, the Morning Star mine had been fully refurbished to 10 level with numerous development drives rehabilitated in the upper levels for preliminary bulk sampling and trial mining activities.
Following the completion of a successful trial mining program in the first half of the financial year, AuStar recommencedmining and processing activities at Morning Star in March 2019.
Mining operations continued through the 2020 financial year from the McNally and Stones reefs. Mining operates as a rail and shaft operation, with airleg mining/drill and blast operations and movement of ore to surface via carting.
Throughout the year McNally Reef contributed the bulk of Morning Star production with development made more challenging by the reef developing down-dip towards the east of original intersection and development. This reef development resulted in longer and multiple staged haulage, up incline, to the Seven Level rail heading, impacting production volumes.
Recent geological work has identified a development opportunity to develop from Eight Level to Seven Level, providing for future production from McNally Reef to occur largely down incline. This development is expected to materially increase production from McNally within existing resources.
Mining continued in the Stones Reef throughout most of ........
Flow Sheet:
Summary:
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Reserves at August 14, 2015:
Category | OreType | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Measured
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
736 kt
|
Gold
|
2 g/t
|
47 koz
|
Measured
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
22 kt
|
Gold
|
20.9 g/t
|
15 koz
|
Indicated
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
793 kt
|
Gold
|
2.2 g/t
|
56 koz
|
Indicated
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
259 kt
|
Gold
|
15.6 g/t
|
130 koz
|
Inferred
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
1,079 kt
|
Gold
|
2.3 g/t
|
80 koz
|
Inferred
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
1,734 kt
|
Gold
|
10.4 g/t
|
582 koz
|
Total Resource
|
In-Situ (OP)
|
2,608 kt
|
Gold
|
2.2 g/t
|
184 koz
|
Total Resource
|
In-Situ (UG)
|
2,015 kt
|
Gold
|
11.2 g/t
|
726 koz
|
Financials:
| Units | 2020 | 2019 |
Revenue
|
M AUD
| ...... |
......
|
Gross profit
|
M AUD
| ...... |
......
|
Pre-tax Income
|
M AUD
| ...... |
......
|
After-tax Income
|
M AUD
| ...... |
......
|
Operating Cash Flow
|
M AUD
| ...... |
......
|
Corporate Filings & Presentations:
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