The Study involves refurbishment of the existing processing facility, recommencement of underground mining, and development of an initial open pit at Belvedere.
The underground mine is fully accessible to the base of existing development, ~1.1km below surface, and has been maintained in a dry and serviceable condition since going into care and maintenance in late 2017.
The initial underground mine schedule considers 12,900m of jumbo development and 3,000m of airleg development scheduled over 37 months with ore production of 926kt @ 4.3g/t for 127koz.
Longhole open stoping is the primary ore extraction method, making up 75% of the ore tonnes.
Airleg stoping is planned in both the Main Lode and Gabbro Veins and accounts for 7% of the ore tonnes from the Paulsens underground, with 4 airleggers allowed for the duration of the operation.
The remaining 18% of ore tonnes comes from lateral development.
The open pit design process included the following steps:
• The open pit design assumed a single lane ramp with passing bays at berm RL’s.
• Other infrastructure requirements were considered including a waste dump, water storage dam, topsoil storage stockpiles, and a mine ore pad.
• Quantities for clearing, stripping, and stockpiling of vegetation and topsoil were calculated based on the footprint of designed infrastructure.
• 100% blasting was assumed.
• Load and haul production was scheduled ........