Barton Gold (ASX: BGD) (OTCQB: BGDFF) has commenced pit optimisation drilling at the Challenger project in South Australia, adjacent to its wholly-owned Central Gawler Mill (CGM).
The company engaged Foraco Australia to manage the 1,490-metre diamond program, which will generate geotechnical data and sample materials for additional metallurgical testwork to support optimisation of the project’s open pit design and operations.
It is being carried out alongside an 8,000m reverse circulation campaign being managed by Kennedy Drilling at the Challenger Main, Challenger West, Challenger South-Southwest, and Challenger 3 targets.
Both programs are targeting conversion of existing open pit mineralisation and near-surface targets to indicated resources and ore reserves, subject to the completion of an ongoing definitive feasibility study (DFS).
Initial Baseline Operation
The design concept of the Challenger DFS is based on an initial four-year Stage 1 ‘baseline’ operation utilising historical higher-grade materials and limited, near-surface materials from Tailings Storage Facility 1 without disturbing the underground mine, its mineralisation, or its infrastructure access.
The model seeks to defer the technical risk and cost of underground operations until after the de-risking of Stage 1 operations has been completed.
This will give Barton additional time to optimise its development plans.
Reinstatement of the CGM is expected to materially enhance the development optionality of several regional assets such as the Tarcoola and Wudinna gold projects and the high-grade Tolmer silver prospect, which could potentially utilise the facility.
Adverse Weather Delay
Barton managing director Alexander Scanlon said the company was pleased to be drilling at Challenger after adverse weather had delayed progress.
“Recent extreme rains have proved a challenge across outback South Australia but our exploration team has worked miracles to rebuild regional access roads and keep drilling moving at pace across all of our development programs,” he said.
“Challenger’s considerable on-pit and near-surface gold mineralisation provides an ideal pathway for an initial operation that will underwrite a restart with a reduced risk profile while maximising development optionality for the Challenger underground mine and Tarcoola, Tolmer and Wudinna projects.”
Barton published a new Challenger Mineral Resources Estimate (MRE) in September last year of 313,000 ounces gold (10.6 million tonnes at 0.92 grams per tonne).
Almost all of the MRE mineralisation is located in, on, or around the company’s existing open-pit and underground development.
