Pic: Bloomberg Creative / Bloomberg Creative Photos via Getty Images
Granny Venn gold pour with REZ’s CEO Richard Poole
Mining
share
REZ’s Richard Poole with their Maiden gold pour
Richard Poole-led REZ has joined the ranks of producers with the maiden gold pour completed from its Granny Venn deposit.
Sydney-based Resources & Energy Group (ASX:REZ) has showed off the very first gold bullion produced from its Granny Venn mine, part of the Menzies project in Western Australia.
The first toll treatment for the Granny Venn cut back has reached the midway mark, which resulted in the first gold pours for the project yesterday morning at the Lakewood mill.
A total of 22.84kg of gold doré was produced from the pour and is now being dispatched to the Perth Gold Mint for determination of assay for out-turn certification.
REZ and BM mining history
Before REZ and BM Mining restarted mining at Granny Venn in early July this year, no mining activity had taken place in 23 years.
Around 17,000 tonnes of Granny Venn ore has been processed since the toll milling campaign began in mid-August.
REZ and BM Mining partnered up under a profit-sharing agreement back in March to exploit the economically recoverable remnant resources at the Menzies project.
BM Mining is part of the BM Geological Services (BMGS) group of companies that have been active in the mining industry in the Goldfields of Western Australia since 2003.
Executive Director Richard Poole said the maiden gold pour represented a pivotal moment in REZ’s growth as it transitioned from exploration to production.
“We would like to congratulate BM Mining, which has done an exceptional job in assisting us in reaching this production milestone and completing the maiden gold pour at the Lakewood mill.” – Executive Director Richard Poole
“Since acquiring ground in the East Menzies Goldfield, the company has moved rapidly to identify and commercialise resources, whilst maintaining a vigorous exploration strategy which has delivered some outstanding results for gold at Gigante Grande, and for nickel at Springfield.”
REZ’s near-term goal is to mine 120,000 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 2.3 grams per tonne (g/t) to produce 8,800oz of gold.
At today’s high Aussie dollar gold price, that would fetch roughly $21.1m, nicely boosting REZ’s coffers to help fund its continued exploration.
The original Granny Venn open pit, which was developed by Money Mining and Paddington Gold in 1997-1998, was based on a pit design optimised at a gold price of $454/oz. The gold price is now 5x that.
And making it even more lucrative for REZ is the fact that under the profit-sharing deal with BM Mining, REZ didn’t have to shell out a dime to get Granny Venn back in operation, with BM Mining covering the $3m capital outlay required.
The initial production campaign is scheduled to be completed in late December.
This article was developed in collaboration with Resources & Energy Group, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
