Ora Banda Mining has boosted its gold reserves by 10,000 ounces across the six key deposits at its flagship Davyhurst Gold Project in the Goldfields despite the fact that it mined 28,000 ounces of it during FY21. The company is ironing out teething problems at the reinvented mine as it looks to ramp the project up to its nameplate capacity of around 80,000 ounces of production a year.
Ora Banda’s proved and probable ore reserves sit across the six key deposits at Davyhurst, including the Riverina, Waihi, Callion, Missouri and Sand King open pits in addition to the Golden Eagle underground.
The company’s gold reserves have been enhanced compared to last year’s calculations in the updated resource and reserve estimate of 6,200,000t at a respectable 2.4 g/t gold for 470,000 ounces. The positive difference is largely due to the extension of ore reserves at the Riverina open pit and Golden Eagle underground, improvements to the Missouri open pit design and the inclusion of 420,000 tonnes of surface stockpiles going 1.4g/t gold. Ora Banda only commenced mining at the Missouri open pit recently, joining Golden Eagle and Riverina which are also operational.
Newly minted Ora Banda Managing Director, Peter Nicholson, said: “The Company is pleased to update the market on the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves for the Davyhurst Gold Project. Work continues on the additional expansion of resources and reserves across the tenement holding and we look forward to further updates as these are delivered.”
Davyhurst comprises a 1.2 million tonnes per annum gold processing plant, fully permitted mining licences, accommodation facilities and Riverina and a full complement of supporting infrastructure.
Ora Banda’s 1.2 million-tonne-per-annum Davyhurst treatment plant is processing ore from the Riverina open-cut mine about 30km to the north and underground ore from Golden Eagle 3.2km from the plant.
The company recently reported a healthy $24.22m in its and an envious 857 ounces of unsold gold bullion.
Additionally, Ora Banda said it invested $3.3 million in exploration over quarter four, with more than 13,000 metres of drilling carried out across Davyhurst.
The company has set its sights on overall gold production of 82,000oz at Davyhurst in the 2021-22 financial year.
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By Matt Birney
