Tombola remains on track to start gold production in late November after executing a definitive legal agreement to lease the Great Australia Mine processing plant.
Mining continues to progress ahead of schedule at the Comstock and Shamrock pits within its Golden Mile operations in Cloncurry, Queensland, while stockpiles of Run of Mine (ROM) material now stand at 61,000t.
Recommissioning of the GAM, which Tombola Gold (ASX:TBA) is leasing from True North Copper for a six-month period at a cost of $110,000 + GST per month, is also on schedule.
While the company is refurbishing its Lorena plant, leasing the GAM allows it to bring forward first gold production and deliver cashflow, before ramping up production at Lorenain 2023.
“We are very pleased to see continuing progress at our mining operations which are on-track for first gold production in late November, with mining advancing well ahead of schedule at both Comstock and Shamrock,” managing director Byron Miles said.
“Additionally, with the definitive legal agreement signed and the recommissioning work at GAM progressing extremely well, we are looking forward to producing our first gold bar.
“These are exciting times for Tombola as we move from junior explorer towards producer, something we have been working hard to achieve.”
Mining operations
Tombola noted that mining at Comstock and Shamrock is progressing at a rate of about 5,800t per day – about 20% above forecast.
Additionally, the mining fleet is performing above forecast rates with 95% utilisation availability while costs are in-line with the Scoping Study.
Industry standard grade control practices are employed in mining operations to delineate mineralised dig-line boundaries with the mining of both pits simultaneously, allowing time for grade control assay turnaround so that mineralised zones can be marked-up on the pit-floor.
Lorena Processing Plant
Work is also ongoing to bring the 300,000tpa Lorena processing plant, which was acquired in July along with the gold project of the same name, back on line.
Assessments are ongoing regarding the preferred tailings disposal options in conjunction with Tombola personnel and key consultants while options are currently being considered for a new standalone dam versus lifting the walls on the existing dam.
Maintenance activities are also being carried out, with repairs and modifications being fully costed as part of the refurbishment plan.
Production at Lorena will likely be supported by the company defining a maiden resource estimate of 72,000oz of gold for the Wallace South and Wynberg projects.
Not only do these add to the company’s global resource base, they are also covered by existing mining leases, allowing for operations to be carried out quickly to provide feed for Lorena.
Additional work will also be completed on other mineralised prospects to define reportable resources.
This article was developed in collaboration with Tombola Gold, 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.