Westgold Resources has reached the base of its historic Fenian’s deposit of the Paddy’s Flat gold mine in Meekatharra, Western Australia.
Paddy’s Flat produced more than 1.5 million ounces of gold prior to 1984 with more than half of that recovered from the Fenian’s and Consol’s mines at a grade of 16.8 grams per tonne.
Westgold has been operating at Meekatharra for four years and its goal has always been to reach the base of Fenian’s, as emphasised by Westgold executive director Wayne Bramwell.
“The Paddy’s Flat operation is Westgold’s largest mine within the Meekatharra gold operations and as such it wears the crown. The Fenian’s deposit is the jewel within the crown,” Bramwell said.
“Achieving access to the virgin ore horizons beneath the historic workings is a major milestone and key to increasing the overall grade of the Paddy’s Flat operation and testing deeper opportunities.
“Importantly, this can be achieved without requiring additional manning or equipment.”
The company now plans to begin two years of vertical development within virgin ore blocks to understand what lies beneath the deepest drill holes at Fenian’s.
Production is also expected to commence simultaneously at Fenian’s by the start of 2022.
“Arriving at the base of the Fenian’s deposit is a major milestone for Westgold and having this access will significantly simplify and at the same time de-risk the mine plan as the bulk of ore will come from two spatially adjacent zones, accessed via separate infrastructure,” the company stated.
“The simplification of the mining scenario will also provide optionality regarding both timing and scale for exploiting the myriad other opportunities that Paddy’s Flat presents.”