London-listed NQ Minerals has entered into agreements to purchase a gold mine about 200 km from its current Hellyer base and precious metals mine, in Tasmania.
The Beaconsfield gold mine is currently closed and NQ chairperson David Lenigas said on Monday that the miner would be working with its consultants and government departments to assess what was required to reopen the mine as soon as possible.
"Acquiring an established gold processing plant for a fraction of the cost to build and permit a new one, not to mention the typical lead time associated with permitting a new facility in Tasmania, is an exciting opportunity which provides our shareholders with exposure to the potential near term re-opening of a high-grade gold operation in Tasmania. Recent notable successes in re-assessing new potential around historic high-grade gold mining centres has seen significant value add for investors at projects like Fosterville in Victoria and Bellevue in Western Australia. In this regard, we believe that Beaconsfield offers a genuine opportunity for the company to develop a high-quality gold asset.”
As part of the initial programme of works in assessing the potential to reopen Beaconsfield, NQ will be engaging independent consultants to reassess the existing gold resources available within the mining lease, taking into consideration the 50% increase in the Australian dollar gold price since the mine officially ceased underground operations in 2012.
However, prior to Beaconsfield's operator, BCD Resources NL (BCD), closing the underground mine in mid-2012, BCD stated in its June 2011 annual report that underground reserves and resources at its Tasmania mine totalled 336 514 oz. Sizeable unmined areas remain within the existing mine envelope and the gold mineralisation is open at depth.
In the full year to June 30, 2012, the mine's last year of underground production, output was 246 084 t at 6.5 g/t gold with plant recoveries averaging 86.9%. This resulted in 44 829 oz of gold production for the year at an average operating cost of A$1 027/oz.
The processing plant ceased treatment of gold ores in 2013 after treating surface stockpiles and has been under care and maintenance since then.