Classic Minerals has made significant progress on the construction of its Kat Gap gold processing plant with both internal and external concrete foundations completed.
The company says the external foundations will support the beneficiation plant whilst the internal concrete slab will be used to support the gold room.
Classic has been making impressive progress with construction at the site including announcing its tailing storage facility is now 45 per cent complete earlier this week. Once the eight-day curing period is complete, the company will begin transferring plant parts onto the foundations.
Kat Gap sits around 170km south of Southern Cross and approximately 50km south of Forrestania. It hosts almost 93,000 ounces of gold in an inferred mineral resource of 975,722 tonnes and is the highest-grade contributor to the company’s total gold inventory of 403,906 ounces. The operation houses a shallow unmined gold deposit that was first uncovered in the 1990s. The deposit caught the attention of several miners, including Sons of Gwalia which completed a resource estimate and scoping study at the site.
Classic has been steadily building towards production at its flagship site over the past six months including receipt of its final approval from the state regulator earlier in November.
In January the company received high-grade results from extensional drilling at Kat Gap with highlights including a 6m section going a solid 12.12 grams per tonne gold from 70m that contains a 1m hit at an impressive 51.1 g/t gold from 70m whilst a second hole returned a 10m intercept grading 9.26 g/t gold from 57m taking in 3m recording 28.3 g/t gold from 70m.
The extensional drilling campaign at the operation covered a total 15 holes for 1552m and was separate to a larger 109-hole infill program the company completed in November.
Kat Gap boasts a 2.96 g/t gold grade and Classic’s “Gecko” processing plant is expected to recover about 96 per cent of the metal from ore.
Two nearby deposits held by Classic are the target of expansion as the company seeks to grow its 59,700-ounce Lady Ada and 250,000-ounce Lady Magdalene deposits in the Forrestania gold belt.
Classic’s investment in a cost effective modular and mobile Gekko gold processing plant for the ore from its flagship deposit is already paying off in the company’s view with first assays from its pilot plant test exceeding expectations.
The company believes the early results demonstrate the Gekko plant is perfectly suited to Kat Gap style ore and is capable of extracting high levels of gravity gold at a relatively low cost. The plant offers versatility for Classic, allowing it to optimise recovery depending on market conditions, ore competency, ore grade and gold price.
With the gold explorer continuing to work on its processing plant and tailing storage facility over the Christmas period, Classic appears to be keen to begin production with all regulatory approvals in place.
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By Matt Birney
