Horizon Minerals has mined first ore at its Boorara gold project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.
Boorara contains over 1.5km of gold mineralisation striking north-west at 330° and is divided into three project areas, namely the southern Royal, central Crown Jewel and northern Regal deposits.
Horizon approved the development of Boorara in late July 2024 to mine a series of four open pits containing 1.24 million tonnes of ore.
Mining will continue over the next 14 months, with ore to be processed at Norton Gold Fields’ Paddington plant located 35km north of Kalgoorlie.
The processed ore is expected to generate up to $30 million in estimated free cashflow for Horizon at a $3600 per ounce gold price.
“It is very pleasing that Boorara is on track for first ore delivery this month, with pouring of gold occurring in this high gold price environment delivering first revenue from Boorara very shortly,” Horizon managing director and chief executive officer Grant Haywood said.
“Despite some labour shortages at site and in the general market, the work is progressing safely, efficiently and on schedule.
“We look forward to providing further updates on our progress at Boorara in due course.”
Horizon plans to establish an ore stockpile of 40,000–50,000 tonnes at Boorara before haulage commences.
Mining services and surface ore haulage contracts have been awarded to Hampton Transport Services, which has been offering ore haulage services to the WA and Northern Territory regions for over 20 years.
The mine’s first ore is on track for delivery to Paddington in late October and first gold production is to be expected in November.
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