Bellevue begins Vanguard mining

Bellevue Gold has signed an agreement with Genesis Minerals that involves Genesis processing material from the Bellevue Gold Project, predominantly from the Vanguard open pit.

The Bellevue Gold Project is a historic gold mining operation that is located approximately 40 kilometres north of Leinster in the northern Goldfields region in Western Australia.

The toll treating agreement will see Vanguard ore processed at Genesis’ newly acquired Gwalia processing facility located approximately 170 kilometres south of the Bellevue Gold Project.

The Vanguard pit is currently being mined and stockpiled during the pre-production period at the project due to its location within the boundary of the tailings storage facility. Waste material derived from pit mining is being used to build the tailings dam wall.

Bellevue said that its Gold Project’s surface mining contractor NRW Holdings is making construction progress in the tailings storage facility and the mining of the open pit.

Under the agreement, MLG OZ will transport open pit material to Genesis’ Gwalia processing facility. Approximately 100,000 tonnes of ore are planned to be processed.

Additionally, the agreement will enable Bellevue to generate early cash flow in the September 2023 quarter ahead of its Gold Project’s scheduled processing at the project’s processing plant in the December 2023 quarter. Trucking and toll treating is also expected to be completed in the September 2023 quarter.

Bellevue said the construction of its processing facility is on schedule and budget, with the plant expected to be ready for commissioning with underground ore in the December 2023 quarter.

Bellevue’s deal with Genesis arrived two days after Genesis formally acquired St Barbara’s Lenora operations after a months-long process.