Bringing Boorara Stage 1 into production
The 18,000m grade control drilling program as announced to the ASX on
A small scale trial pit to 20m depth was mined in the Royal (previously Southern Stockwork) area at Boorara in 2016, with ore up to 15m wide mined on 2.5m high flitches 1. A close spaced grade control program undertaken prior to mining yielded planned trial pit grades well above the in-situ resource grade estimate of 1g/t. Ore mined from the trial pit was processed at
The aim of the current grade control program is to further test the grade uplift potential and enable a new geological model to be compiled for mine optimisation, design and economic analysis. On completion, expected in the current
The resultant mine and mill reconciliation data will then be used to compare to the global resource model ahead of the larger scale mine development assessment being undertaken as part of the Feasibility Study due for completion in the
Production guidance and project economics will be provided on completion of the Stage 1 evaluation in the current
Growing the production pipeline
A number of 100% owned projects have the potential to add significant mining inventory as per Figure 3* below. Three projects have been prioritised based on current resource status, grade and open pit and underground upside potential.
Further stages of Boorara mine development will be determined by the outcome of the mining, pit mapping and mill reconciliations of Stage 1. The Boorara resource model will be updated during this period and fed into the Feasibility Study.
The Crake project, part of the Binduli project area (Figure 1*) has grown significantly in 2019 after a number of highly successful drilling programs. Internal optimisations have generated positive results and provided extensional drill targets along strike and at depth. Further infill and extensional RC and diamond drilling is planned in H2 2020.
The Rosehill project, recently acquired through an asset swap with
Resource growth through exploration and acquisition
Horizon has developed priority resource growth and new discovery targets for drilling in 2020. These include Boorara near mine (including Balagundi, Kanowna South,
Priority is to target areas hosting free milling ore within a 75km radius of Boorara with grade above 2g/t Au and strip ratio below 10:1 for open pit and grades above 4g/t Au for satellite underground projects.
Drilling in the
The Company will continue to pursue value accretive acquisitions that meet the disciplined criteria of value, continuity with existing tenure, location on major geological structures and proximity to a potential centralised mill at Boorara. Consolidation across the sector needs to continue and the Company will continue discussions with neighbouring companies and collaborate where mutual gain can be achieved.
Joint ventures
The Company's strategy for non-gold projects is typically to divest or farm out to avoid management distraction, reduce costs and to retain future upside exposure. The current joint venture with Richmond Vanadium Technology (RVT) covering the 2.6Bt Richmond vanadium project in central north
Other projects in the portfolio include the Nanadie Well copper-gold-PGE project and the Nimbus silver-zinc project. The Company is currently assessing options for these projects and holding preliminary discussions with interested joint venture partners.
News flow and milestones
As the strategic plan is put in to action, significant news flow can be expected throughout 2020 as per below:
*To view tables and figures, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/0JS2C8U3
About
Horizon is aiming to significantly grow its JORC-Compliant Mineral Resources, complete definitive feasibility studies on core high grade open cut and underground projects and build a sustainable development pipeline.
Horizon has a number of joint ventures in place across multiple commodities and regions of
Contact:
Managing Director
Tel: +61-8-9386-9534
E: jon.price@horizonminerals.com.au
Media Relations -
Tel: +61-422-602-720
E: michael.vaughan@fivemark.com.au
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