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Australia

Paulsens Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit & Underground
StageRestarting
Commodities
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
  • Longhole open stoping
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Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotCurrently, Paulsens Gold Operation is on care and maintenance.
Paulsens is a dewatered, ventilated and well maintained high-grade underground gold mine with a 450ktpa processing facility and operational camp and infrastructure.

On 8 May 2024, the Restart Study was updated.

Internal Operating Plan:
The May 2024 Restart Study is a subset of an Internal Operating Plan which includes additional mining areas that do not meet the requirements for public release. The Internal Operating Plan includes selective mining of developed veins to build a high-grade stockpile for immediate processing once the processing facility is commissioned on low-grade, existing stockpiles.

Underground mining contractor, Cream Mining has commenced mobilisation to site to undertake selective mining. On 27 June 2024, MACA Interquip mobilised to site and commenced major refurbishment activities ahead of commissioning of the processing facility in December 2024.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Black Cat Syndicate Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Black Cat Syndicate Limited completed the acquisition of 100% of the high-grade Paulsens Gold Operations from Northern Star Resources Limited on 15 June 2022 (the acquisitions).

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

Paulsens is located on the northern limb of the Wyloo Dome. The geology is characterised by rocks comprising the Hardey Formation of the lower Fortescue Group sequence. The Hardey Formation has been informally subdivided into five members termed the Horsewell Sandstones, Melrose Argillite, Madang Clastics, Tin Hut Basalt and the Beaghy Sandstones. These members are defined as a predominately sedimentary succession of siliclastics with minor mafic flows which have been intruded by doleritic to gabbroic dyke swarms and sills of varying ages.

The prominent structural grain is defined by the trend of the regional dome, where local stratigraphy plunges 30° towards the northwest. A penetrative south-dipping axial planar fabric is typically present and is locally overprinted by a steeper, sub-parallel fabric which develops discrete and narrow shear zones with undefined origins. Towards the east of the project area, a regional brittle fault termed the “Hardey Fault” offsets stratigraphy.

Locally, the mine area is dominated by the Paulsens Mine Gabbro (40-60m in width) that has intruded the sediments prior to mineralising events. This Gabbro has been offset by normal faulting, causing a plunging ‘tear’ in the unit at ~30° towards the NW. This tear has been filled with a massive and barren quartz vein that was host to the historically mined mineralisation. Late-stage diorite dykes cross-cut the geology and mineralisation.

Mineralisation is generally concentrated on, or close to, the margins of the massive, quartz vein that fills the tear within the offset Mine Gabbro. Mineralisation is also found within the Mine Gabbro itself, forming narrower, high-nugget quartz/sulphide veins. The various mineralised veins plunge from outcropping at surface towards WNW at around -30° and are mostly constrained to either within the quartz or Gabbro.

Belvedere is situated within a sequence of mafic volcanic and sedimentary rocks collectively known as the Mount Roe Basalts. The units are folded along a moderate to steeply-dipping axial southwest plane with an overall shallow NW plunge. Post-folding and shearing, the volcano-sedimentary rocks appear to have been dissected by a series of NE trending normal faults with NW side down displacement. The Belvedere Fault appears to localise the mineralisation.

The rocks are intruded by a suite of steeply dipping, northerly striking (350°) dolerite dykes. A large dyke has exploited the weakness provided by the Belvedere Fault. Mineralisation is hosted in and adjacent to laminated quartz veins containing Fe-carbonate and arsenopyrite (+/- galena), formed within or at the margin of the re-oriented dolerite dyke. These veins appear to be associated with a set of steeply north dipping, roughly EW oriented mineralisation faults that probably comprise a damage zone formed contemporaneous with the mineralisation. These faults have associated minor quartz veining and sericite (+/- carbonate alteration) and locally deform the intrusive dolerite; partitioning of strain between these faults probably controls the horizontal extent of the larger mineralised quartz veins.

The main host at Belvedere is a mineralised quartz vein (defined by drilling) between 2m to 12m thick dipping from near surface at 52->280° for 180m to a depth of around 100m RL. The geometry of this vein appears to be analogous to the historically mined vein on the hill above it, but it is most probably a SW en-echelon step across from this vein rather than a direct (co-planar) extension of it.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityUnits2018201720162015Avg. AnnualLOM
Gold koz 2255817542123
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.

Operational metrics

Metrics20202018201720162015
Hourly processing capacity  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing rate  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe450,000 t450,000 t
Tonnes processed  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
Total tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe174,974 t352,029 t398,812 t
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe233,292 t434,246 t386,570 t
* According to 2023 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage20182017
Cash costs Gold AUD  ....  Subscribe
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold AUD  ....  Subscribe
All-in sustaining costs (sold) Gold AUD 1,450 / oz   1,455 / oz  
Assumed price Gold AUD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2023 study / presentation.

Financials

Units20182017
Revenue M AUD 40   93.6  
EBITDA M AUD 9.2   34.2  

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Pre-Production capital costs $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Sustaining CapEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Total CapEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
UG OpEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Processing OpEx $M AUD 56.2
Total OpEx $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M AUD  ......  Subscribe

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 9, 2023
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Aerial view:

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