Vertex Minerals has powered up the gravity plant at its Reward gold mine and will soon start the commissioning phase. Pic: Getty Images
Vertex Minerals takes another step to Reward gold output with powering up of gravity plant
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- Vertex Minerals powers up gravity processing plant at its Reward mine
- Wet commissioning and ore feed commissioning to follow with ore sorter to be retrofitted in early January
- Mine remains on time and within budget with first gold expected early 2025
Special Report: Vertex Minerals is closing in on starting gold production from its Reward mine in 2025 after it successfully powered up the newly installed gravity processing plant.
The installation and connection of the power generation units follows the installation of all plant components and completion of the dry stack tailings storage facility and tailings pipework.
This milestone means that Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) can now start up the plant to mechanically test and operate it.
Wet commissioning and ore feed commissioning will follow using stockpiled ore located next to the plant.
An ore sorter, which will increase grade and reduce throughput by 50%, will be retrofitted in early January.
First gold is expected in early 2025.
The fully automated gravity processing plant has the capacity to treat up to 110,000t of ore per annum while using less power and requiring just two operators and a gold room technician, which reduces operating costs.
“On time and within budget, the refurbishment and installation activities at the Reward gravity gold processing plant are almost complete with power up testing now underway,” executive chairman Roger Jackson said.
“Our focus is now switching to dry and wet commissioning in the lead up to first gold next month. This is an exciting milestone for the company given the quality of the plant and the low capex required to get to this stage.”
The revival of Reward comes as gold prices again close on record highs, moving beyond US$2700/oz (~A$4250/oz) this week.
Reward gold mine
The Reward mine in NSW’s central west is considered one of Australia’s highest grade gold deposits with a resource of 419,000t grading 16.72g/t gold, or 225,200oz of contained precious metal.
About 70,500oz of the contained gold sits within the higher confidence indicated category.
In its fast start scenario, VTX had estimated the mine would produce close to 50,000oz of gold, delivering some $41m in free cash before tax over two years.
Ore sorting could vastly improve economics with previous testing of low-grade stockpiles achieving a 79% mass reduction with corresponding gold recovery of 94%.
This will reduce energy and water consumption, leading to lower operating costs and a reduced carbon footprint.
This article was developed in collaboration with Vertex 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.
