JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed WPG Resources on Thursday undertook the first stope firing of Challenger Deeps development, at its Challenger mine, in Western Australia.
This milestone marks the transition from mining in the upper areas of the mine, which has been dominated by remnant mining, to mining of virgin areas below the 215 shear.
“Accessing Challenger Deeps was a key objective when WPG bought the mine almost two years ago, and we are very happy to have reached this target and at the same time seeing the excellent performance of Tarcoola,” CEO Wayne Rossiter said in a statement on Friday.
Initial production will focus on the M2 structures will be followed by the M1 lodes as development progresses.
“Drilling undertaken as part of stope design indicates that these lodes will continue to perform in Challenger Deep,” he said.
As development at Challenger Deeps continues, there has also been excellent high-grade ore delivered from Tarcoola to the Challenger mill. This high-grade ore has been successfully processed after blending with Challenger ore.
Recent ore parcels mined and delivered to Challenger have graded up to 12 g/t gold in the higher-grade zones.