Alkane Resources has blasted the first production stope at its Roswell deposit, marking the next milestone in extending the Tomingley gold operation in New South Wales.
The blasting marks the commencement of production ore at Roswell and will assist Alkane in extending Tomingley’s mine life and increase production.
“The firing of the first production stope at Roswell is a major milestone for Tomingley that we have been working towards since drilling our first exploration hole there in 2018,” Alkane managing director Nic Earner said. “Not only does Roswell have higher-grade stopes but it is open at depth and along strike.
“We continue to conduct both grade control and extension drilling from underground. We’re continuing with extensive development to enable production to ramp up.
“On behalf of the board I would like to thank the exploration, production and project teams for the work they have done to allow this milestone to occur.”
Alkane is working to extend operations at Tomingley until at least 2032 and will include the San Antonio and Roswell resources immediately south of the existing mine.
The extension project will involve the development of an underground mine at Roswell and one large open cut pit. The life of mine plan shows production of at least another 750,000 ounces, and a potential annual production rate of 100,000 ounces in 2025.
In the 2022–23 financial year, Alkane poured 70,253 ounces of gold from Tomingley from four open cut pits.
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