JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim- and TSX-V-listed Galantas Gold has made good progress with the development of an underground mine at Omagh, in county Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and is now looking at acquiring new equipment to speed up its development rate.
The company reported on Thursday that development had been advanced by about 90 m from the underground portal. In mid-July, underground development totalled 47 m.
Galantas said that the stringer vein that was intersected a few months ago, had been accessed from the main decline tunnel and that mineralisation was about 0.5 m wide. The vein would be blasted separately from the surrounding country rock in a process called ‘split-fire’ to minimise dilution. A narrow width loader had been acquired on a short-term basis to operate on the splinter vein, until new specialist vein mining equipment was delivered.
The company also reported that it was acquiring new drilling and shotcreting equipment on a rental basis, with the option to purchase. The new drilling equipment was to improve advance rates by more than 40%.
The rental purchase arrangements cover equipment to the value of about £1-million. Included in the rental arrangements are various time-dependent options to purchase, for instance if the purchase option is exercised within one year, a rebate of 92% of rental amounts paid is expected to be applied against the final purchase price.
In terms of personnel, Galantas said it now had 22 people on site at Omagh, in county Tyrone.
Underground development was on hold in April, after police could not provide the required anti-terrorism cover for blasting at the project. Development work resumed in May, after the company reached an agreement with police to offer cover of two hours a day, three days a week.
Mining at the Omagh mine had been conducted by openpit methods up to the suspension of production in 2013.
The underground mine is expected to produce 27 542 oz over a six-year mine life, with output peaking at 36 411 oz/y in the third year of operations. About 157 700 t of ore will be processed in the six years.