|
Explorations
a) Cadia District
Cadia East
At Cadia East further deep drilling and pre-feasibility mining studies enabled the release of an upgraded audited Mineral Resource estimate in February 2004 and a further increase at 30 June 2004. The new estimate is an increase of 8.4 million ounces of gold and 1.2 million tonnes of copper over the June 2003 estimate, resulting in a Mineral Resource of 18 million ounces of gold and 2.9 million tonnes of copper.
The resource consists of:
- An open pit Mineral Resource (Inferred) of 300 million tonnes at 0.46 grams per tonne of gold and 0.37 percent copper, and
- An underground Mineral Resource (Inferred and Indicated) of 530 million tonnes at 0.81 grams per tonne of gold and 0.33 percent copper.
Cadia East is a gold-copper porphyry style of deposit which is presently estimated to extend to a depth of more than 1,500 metres below surface. The deeper underground resource remains open to the east, west and at depth. Surface drilling is continuing on the underground mineralisation to evaluate a possible western extension of a high-grade zone and the surrounding lower-grade mineralisation. It is anticipated that additional drilling will increase the size of the underground resource.
Ridgeway
At Ridgeway, further deep drilling increased the pre-mining resource by 270,000 ounces of gold and 17,000 tonnes of copper when compared to the 2002/03 result, but after mining depletions, the overall change in the Ridgeway resource is a decrease of 230,000 ounces of gold and 34,000 tonnes of copper.
The newly identified mineralisation is located immediately below the existing Ridgeway orebody and extends the deposit to 1,300 metres below surface. Deeper drilling is continuing as the deposit remains open at depth.
Junction Reefs (earning 51 percent)
In the Junction Reefs joint venture area, along strike of the Cadia discoveries, drilling continued at the Warrengong prospect.
A long interval of modest but encouraging mineralisation was recorded. Additional drilling is planned for 2004/05.
 |
