Ora Banda Mining has reduced the assumed gold price used to calculate its ore reserve figures at the company’s Davyhurst gold project as it focuses on higher-margin ounces and increased quality from deposits.
The company announced it had dropped its gold price assumptions to $1850 per ounce from the previous figure used in ore reserve calculations of $2200 per ounce to determine appropriate cut-off grades for each of the five projects that form its larger Davyhurst operation.
The change to the price assumption means the company will target higher gold grades to improve the economic viability of each of its deposits at Davyhurst.
Despite the updated figure, the project’s mineral resource remains stable at more than two million ounces at 2.5 grams per tonne despite mining depletion.
Ora Banda says the change will direct the miner’s attention in both a production and drill program perspective to higher-margin ounces.
The move also gives Ora Banda an updated ore reserve figure of 276,000 ounces at around 2 grams per tonne that the company says underpins more than four years of production at the current rate.
Davyhurst’s latest mineral resource figure includes significant additions from the company’s Iguana deposit where ounces have increase by 68 per cent up to 294,000 ounces from 175,000 ounces.
Whilst open pit mining has depleted the company’s Riverina deposit, the site’s underground mineral resource remains close to a previously reported 151,000 ounces — a decrease of only 3 per cent following a 5800m drill program completed last year.
The Callion and Waihi mineral resources remain unchanged whilst the Sand King and Missouri figures have seen minor reductions.
Ora Banda Mining Chief Executive Officer, Luke Creagh said: “I am very upbeat about increasing our resource and reserve base given the outstanding opportunities the company has with over 120 km of mineralised trends that are substantially under-explored.”
The miner recently implemented a strategy to simplify mining, raise plant efficiency, cut costs and improve cash generation with its June quarterly report marking the first time the gold producer has delivered a positive cash flow since inception.
In April the company announced a strategic reset after a detailed review of its flagship Davyhurst gold mining and processing operations.
Ora Banda’s latest company presentation has outlined a three-year strategy with a focus on fundamentals in the short term, an aim to leverage organic opportunities in the medium term and long-term goals of using performance to drive growth.
The new strategy will also highlight a focus on the fundamentals including a “boots-on-ground” geology with an emphasis on structural mapping of the company’s key deposits at Siberia, Riverina and Callion.
Ora Banda has already committed more than $10 million of resource development and exploration drilling across its tenements and any updates will likely catch the eye of the market.
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By Matt Birney
