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Code CMM Source ASX

Location

The Karlawinda Gold Project (“KGP”) is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 65km south-east of the town of Newman.

Karlawinda project location

Background

The Project area is underlain by a largely unexplored and only recently recognised belt of Archaean-aged greenstone rocks that were discovered in 2005. This belt of predominantly volcanic and sedimentary rocks is located on the southern margin of the Sylvania Dome, a major structure where Archaean predominantly granitic basement rocks thought to be part of the Pilbara Craton, are exposed at surface within surrounding younger Proterozoic aged sedimentary basins. Typically, at the KGP the bedrock geology is obscured by a thin cover of sandy soil up to 2m thick.

The Karlawinda Project consists of over 2,000 square kilometres of prospective tenure which includes the greenstone belt hosting the 2.2 million ounce Resource and 1.2 million ounce Reserve Bibra gold deposit and other areas deemed highly prospective for gold. Due to the location of the project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia (a region not historically explored for gold), very little modern and meaningful gold exploration has been completed outside of the immediate Bibra deposit.

Karlawinda exploration targets

Bibra

The Bibra deposit is part of a large-scale Archaean gold mineralising system with mineralisation hosted within a package of deformed meta-sediments and meta volcanic rocks and is developed on four main parallel, shallow dipping structures. Close to surface in the weathered rock, oxide gold mineralisation has been developed over the structures from surface to a depth of approximately 60m.

Cross section of the Bibra deposit

Construction

Construction of the KGP commenced in December 2019 and was completed in June 2021 with the successful commissioning of the processing plant culminating in first gold poured of 386 ounces on 30 June 2021. The project was completed in line with time and cost guidance. In September 2021 the Company announced the project had reached steady state operations.

The KGP processing plant throughput capacity is anticipated to be:

  • 4.5 – 5.0 mtpa in the oxide/fresh ore blend in the first 3 years; and
  • 4.0 – 4.5 mtpa in solely fresh rock ore in years 4 and beyond.

These throughput capacities are expected to produce a long-term production range of 110,000 to 125,000 ounces per annum.

Processing plant and site infrastructure

Production

The Company completed commissioning and optimisation of the project within the first full quarter of operations with steady state production achieved by the end of September 2021. 

KGP produced 118,432 ounces from its first year of operation achieving the upper end of the annual production guidance range of 110,000 – 120,000 ounces.

All-in-sustaining-costs (“AISC”) for the nine months since the announcement of steady state production was achieved was $1,112 per ounce which was at the lower end of the AISC guidance range for the year of $1,100 – $1,200 per ounce.

Karlawinda Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves

JORC compliant Ore Reserve estimate as at 31 March 2023:

Notes on the Ore Reserve estimate:

  1. Ore Reserves are a subset of Mineral Resources.
  2. Ore Reserves are estimated using a gold price of A$1900/ounce.
  3. Ore Reserves are estimated using a cut-off grades between 0.3g/t and 0.4g/t Au.
  4. The above data has been rounded to the nearest 100,000 tonnes, 0.1 g/t gold grade and 1,000 ounces. Errors of summation may occur to rounding.

JORC compliant Mineral Resource estimate as at 31 March 2023:

Notes on the Mineral Resource estimate:

  1. Mineral Resources are estimated using a gold price of A$2,200/ounce.
  2. Mineral Resources are estimated using a cut-off grade between 0.3g/t and 0.4g/t Au.
  3. The above data has been rounded to the nearest 100,000 tonnes, 0.1 g/t gold grade and 1,000 ounces. Errors of summation may occur to rounding.