Kat Gap gold production is imminent for Classic Minerals

Classic is on the cusp of becoming a gold producer with the haulage of about 6,500t of ore from the Bulk Sample pit at Kat Gap to the plant site.

It follows the company moving the Gekko plant onto the cured foundations at the processing site earlier this week with work on ancillary and supporting structures as well as all electrical and plumbing now underway.

Once this work is completed, Classic Minerals (ASX:CLZ) will start treatment of the bulk sample ore stockpile, which will set the stage for development of the rest of the Kat Gap project.

The Kat Gap deposit currently has an Inferred resource of 975,722t grading 2.96g/t gold, or 92,856oz of contained gold while the broader Forrestania gold project hosts a resource of 8.24 million tonnes at 1.52g/t gold for 403,906oz of contained gold.

Operating costs from Kat Gap are expected to be low due to the low base metal content of the ore, which results in a very low reagent consumption.

The company also has the ability to beneficiate low grade ores to reject uneconomic waste materials and minimise cost per tonne processed.

Growth potential

There is also significant potential to grow resources at Kat Gap given that recent drilling has intersected high-grade gold beneath existing shallower mineralisation.

Notable results from the extensional reverse circulation drill program are 10m grading 9.26 grams per tonne (g/t) from a down-hole depth of 57m including 3m at 28.3g/t gold from 57m and 6m at 12.12g/t gold from 70m including 1m at 51.1g/t gold from 70m.

This has the potential to add more mineable ounces and deepen the final open pit design.

This article was developed in collaboration with Classic Minerals, 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.