Everest confirms development plans at Mt Dimer gold mine

Everest Metals Corporation (EMC) has announced plans to develop the 48,545 ounces of gold and 89,011 ounces of silver at its 100 per cent-owned Mt Dimer Taipan gold and silver project in WA’s goldfields as the gold price continues to trade near record highs above $3000 per ounce. 

The price of the precious metal has held ground above $3000 an ounce since late last year, causing the company to redouble its development efforts at Mt Dimar which contains a historic open pit gold mine. Encouragingly, the project boasts a number of first-rate drill intercepts going as high as 8m at 13.55 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 80m – including a 4m slice at 23 g/t. 

Other significant assays, which also include silver hits, include 6m at 7.07 g/t gold and 6.93 g/t silver from 45m, 7m at 3.19 g/t gold and 14 g/t silver from 106m which also contained a 3m slice grading 6.5 g/t gold and 25.4 g/t silver from 106m. 

Significantly, management says the Mt Dimer resource remains open along strike to the south as well as down dip and mineralisation may continue outside of the area drilled to date. The company says a valid permit of work for drilling is in place and it has also submitted a new permit of work to the regulator requesting further reverse-circulation (RC) drilling aimed at expanding the mineralisation envelope. 

The company says it is also preparing a mining proposal for Mt Dimer and expects to submit it to the regulator this quarter with the receipt of approvals anticipated in the second half of this year.  

Everest Metals Corporation executive chairman and chief executive officer Mark Caruso said: “A current AUD gold price over $3,000 per ounce with a favourable outlook materially changes the economic outcomes for developing the Mt Dimer Taipan project. The Company is pleased to announce its commitment to the development of its 100% owned project with a view to commencing a profitable mining operation in the medium term”. 

Mt Dimer was initially mined by Taipan Resources between 1995 and 1996 when the open pit was excavated to approximately the base of weathering.  Mining ceased due to a number of factors including a significant wall failure on the northeastern side of the open pit coupled with a subdued gold price at $450. In total, over 84,000 tonnes of ore were mined at a grade of approximately 4.61g/t gold for 5,933 ounces. 

Numerous small companies attempted to leach the stockpiles before the project was bought by Cadre Resources in 2017 which drilled four RC exploration holes along strike from the deposit – all intersecting grades greater than 1 g/t gold. 

Everest Metals acquired the project in 2020 and drilled 26 RC holes, of which 12 came back with assays over 1 g/t gold.  The company says the results suggest mineralisation extends along strike and down dip of the main deposit.

 In 2021, the company completed a 12-sample grab sampling program at the project resulting in encouraging assays as high as 1.19g/t gold with an average sample grade of 0.41g/t.  The company went on to release the maiden inferred mineral resource for Mt Dimer the same year quoting 722,000 tonnes at a grade of 2.10 g/t gold for 48,545 ounces, and 3.84 g/t silver for 89,011 ounces. 

Everest Metals, buoyed by the gold price trend, is now taking aim at a gold mining operation in the ‘medium term’ at Mt Dimer, which sits about 150km west of Kalgoorlie and 120km northeast of the famous gold mining town Southern Cross.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au