Penny is an orogenic structurally controlled Archaean gold lode system. Gold mineralisation occurs within narrow, steeply, east dipping, quartzsulphide lodes. The quartz veins are variably massive, laminated or brecciated with a variable sulphide assemblage of pyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, chalcopyrite and sphalerite & frequent VG. High Ag grades (1:1 Au) are noted.

At Penny mineralisation is hosted by a steeply dipping quartz veins within a mafic to intermediate stratigraphy and strongly associated with sulphide mineralisation within the vein.

Penny lodes are a narrow vein/lode style. Penny North strikes N and dips 55° to E. Average width around 2-3m, ranging from 1m to 6m. Strike and dip extent of 250m by 200m. Penny West similar and Magenta & Columbia are much smaller.

Host stratigraphy for the deposit is a sequence of steeply dipping mafic and ultramafic rocks with minor felsic intrusives. Gold mineralisation is associated with steeply east dipping, quartz-sulphide veins typically 2m to 5m in width. These quartz lodes are visually distinct and typically display sharp boundaries to the mineralisation. The quartz veins are variably massive, laminated or brecciated with a highly variable sulphide assemblage of pyrite, pyrrhotite, galena, chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Some sulphide zones are semi-massive and can comprise 50-90% sulphide. Visible gold can be seen proximal to galena and sphalerite. Pb anomalism is significant with lode Pb grade up ........

Magenta Open pit
Open pit mining commenced at Penny during the year with the small Magenta pit being completed. The Magenta pit contained a small quartz lode and will also serve as a dewatering location for the Penny West cut back and Penny North underground.

Penny West Open pit
The Penny West pit cutback was also completed during the year which established a suitable long-term ramp access and portal location in the north wall.

Penny North Underground
With completion of these open pit activities, operations transitioned underground with the portal blast to establish access occurring on 26 April 2022. Work has now commenced on the decline with good progress being made on capital development. Towards the end of the year the decline was approaching the first Penny North ore level with the first underground ore scheduled for extraction late in the September 2022 Quarter.

The mining method consists of a conventional mechanised decline and 20m sub level development. The stoping method is conventional longhole drilling and blasting of up-hole bench stopes with a combination of in-situ pillars and cement rock fill stope support. Ore will be hauled along existing access and government roads to the Mt Magnet plant for processing.

Penny North Underground Mine and will be accessed from the Penny West Pit and will ultimately be mined to a depth of 180mRL (~315m below surface). Production levels will be spaced 20m floor to floor ........

It is planned for the Penny Project ore to be processed through the Mt Magnet Processing Plant as part of an overall feed blend. Test work has shown that high metallurgical recoveries can be achieved at the current processing grind size of nominally 175µm.

No capital modifications to the processing facility are required in order to process the Penny gold ores. Penny ores are marginally softer and the gravity circuit has been demonstrated to have a capacity well above the calculated gravity gold recovery in the Penny feed blend, and the overall gold production is below peak gold production.

The Mt Magnet processing plant is a conventional CIL/CIP gold plant with single stage crushing, primary SAG milling in closed-circuit with a pebble crusher, and secondary closed-circuit ball milling.

A centrifugal style gravity gold recovery circuit operates on a portion of the secondary milling product hydrocyclone underflow. Gravity gold concentrate is intensively l ........