Canadian-Australian gold miner OceanaGold is on track to deliver first stope ore from its Haile gold mine in the US.
OceanaGold has also mined first development ore from the Horseshoe underground mineralisation within Haile.
First stope production is expected in October, with ramp-up to occur through the fourth quarter and first half of 2024. Grade control drilling at Horseshoe underground has delivered results in-line with or above model expectation to date.
“We are pleased to have mined first development ore from the Horseshoe underground,” OceanaGold president and chief executive officer Gerard Bond said.
“The team has done a tremendous job in planning and safely executing the work to deliver this important growth project. We remain on track to have first stoping ore in October and will then ramp up to full target mining rates through the first half of 2024.
“The future of Haile continues to be exciting and with the release of the drilling results, including a high grade resource conversion result in the Horseshoe inferred resource, it is clear that there continues to be considerable upside to our current plan.”
David Londono, chief operating officer Americas said Horseshoe will become a meaningful contributor for the company in 2024 and in the future.
“Although mining from Mill Zone in 2023 has been disappointing through the second and third quarter, the reconciliation challenges encountered are in a localised area within Mill Zone pit where mining is now complete, and mining has now shifted to Ledbetter Phase 2,” he said.
“Previous phases of the Ledbetter pit have reconciled well versus our resource model, and we remain confident in our long-term production profile for the mine, particularly with Horseshoe underground becoming a meaningful contributor in 2024 and beyond.”
