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The Central Tanami Project Joint Venture (CTPJV) has signed a A$38 million ($27 million) agreement with underground mining contractor Macmahon Underground Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Macmahon Holdings Limited, for construction of the Groundrush decline at the CTPJV mine site in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The CTPJV is owned by Tanami Gold and MGX Resources Limited on a 50:50 basis.
The construction works to be undertaken by Macmahon include portal and ventilation establishment and the initial 3.5 km of decline development to a depth of circa-350 m over a period of 14 months.
Underground drilling activities will commence from constructed drilling platforms in the latter stages of the works which will enable resource definition drilling of the Groundrush gold deposit to a depth of approximately 650 m. The objective of the planned 33,000 m of resource definition drilling is to convert over 400,000 oz of mineral resources currently classified as inferred into the higher confidence indicated category for mine design and development purposes.
The CTPJV’s resource estimate totals 31 Mt at an average grade of 2.8 g/t Au for 2.8 Moz of contained gold, including 11 Mt at 3.3 g/t Au for 1.2 Moz of gold within the Groundrush gold deposit.
Surface works necessary for decline construction at Groundrush, including preparation of laydown areas and the re-establishment of in-pit ramp access, are already well underway, with Macmahon scheduled to mobilise to site for commencement of in-pit portal construction activities in September.
Elsewhere on the CTPJV site, resource definition drilling recommenced in June at the Jims gold deposit. Jims was previously mined 25 years ago and offers significant potential as an expanded open-pit ore source to supplement mineralisation from Groundrush, the JV reports. The current resource estimate for the Jims gold deposit totals 2.6 Mt at 2.7 g/t Au for 220,000 oz of contained gold.
Tanami Executive Director, Brett Smith, said: “The commencement of the Groundrush decline represents a key milestone in the CTPJV’s efforts in advancing the project. Working with our JV Partner, MGX, both companies continue to progress the project and the establishment of a major new gold operation in the Northern Territory.”
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