Goldfields focused Ora Banda Mining increased gold production in the December quarter after producing 17,192 ounces of gold, the company’s best quarterly performance since the re-start of its Davyhurst operation in WA. 18,806 ounces of gold were sold for the quarter at an average price of $2,472 per ounce, resulting in the operation turning cashflow positive for November and December.
The Davyhurst Operation is situated approximately 120 kilometres northwest of Kalgoorlie in WA.
During the December 2021 quarter the company ran open pit and underground operations at its Riverina, Missouri and Golden Eagle mines where it achieved planned production figures. All mined ore was trucked to the company’s nearby Davyhurst processing plant that managed to push 90,000 tonnes of ore through each month of the quarter - representing an almost 20 per cent throughput increase from the previous period.
Ora Banda says it is on track to reach its 2022 financial year gold production forecast in the range of 70,000 to 75,000 ounces however the company believes it will come in on the lower side of that range.
Overall production figures across its portfolio were positive despite setbacks at the Riverina mine located 44km from the Davyhurst processing plant. The Riverina operation was affected by delays in receiving grade control drill results that subsequently impacted on blast hole drilling.
Additionally, Riverina was affected by some minor pit wall failures combined with some cracking near the ramp, delaying production. The company says neither of the setbacks are anticipated to affect production beyond the second week of January.
Total ore processed for the quarter across all operations was 270,755 tonnes at an average grade of 2.31 g/t gold. Processed ore had a 92.2 per cent recovery rate leading to an aggregate figure of 17,192 ounces of gold poured for the quarter.
Ora Banda also experienced success on the exploration front punching out a total of 4,777m of drilling for the December quarter and receiving a flurry of results back from the assay lab. Significant drill results received from the Victoria workings included a standout figure of 5m grading a formidable 30.7 g/t gold, almost an ounce to the tonne, from 127m downhole.
Interestingly, the tested area sits just 6km southwest of the active Riverina mine
Other notable drill hits from the Victoria workings include 5m at 4.0 g/t gold from 54m, 4m going 6.5 g/t gold from 27m downhole and 1m that gave up 13.7 g/t gold from 74m.
Gold is not the only commodity within the company’s Western Australian tenure, with known lepidolite dominant lithium pegmatite occurrences scattered across its Riverina, Davyhurst, Callion and Lady Ida project areas.
A total of 35 rock chip samples were taken and sent to the lab across all four projects, all of which are situated within a 70 km radius of the Davyhurst processing plant.
Ora Banda’s tenement package is made up of 95 mostly contiguous tenements located 50km southwest of Menzies covering an area of approximately 1,210 square kms. The tenement package is mainly comprised of greenstone sequences prospective for gold, lithium and other base metals.
Despite some hiccups at its Riverina open pit mine, Ora Banda was still able to push record numbers of ore through its Davyhurst mill - beating the best production figures the mill has experienced since lurching back into life at the beginning of 2021. Should it manage to keep those hiccups firmly in the rear-view mirror and chip away at its production costs, next quarter’s figures could make for interesting reading.
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By Matt Birney
