Key Stats:
- Name: The Mount
- Location: Adjacent to the town of Widgiemooltha, 85km south of Focus’ Three Mile Hill processing plant
- Product: Gold
- Mining Method: Underground
- Resource: 2.1Mt @ 5.5g/t for 370,000 ounces
- Reserve: 21,000t @ 5.0g/t for 3,300 ounces
- Production rate: Entered production in March 2011
- Profile: Multiple narrow vein ore zones offering high-grade production
The Mount is a new narrow vein, high-grade underground mine that Focus took into production late in the March Quarter of 2011.
The Mount comprises approximately 15 parallel sub-vertical lodes across a 300m by 600m area that is open in all directions and at depth. After trial mining 30,000t at 8.0g/t in early 2010, Focus took a view that in a period of a strong gold price, stoping production could be achieved in a far shorter time frame than would have been required under a conventional drill out and reserve process, with funds spent in development rather than exploration.
The mine therefore commenced on an inferred resource with designs targeting known areas for exploratory purposes as well as for production continuity. Given the geometry of the multiple parallel lodes, underground is providing a better drilling platform than would have been possible from surface in seeking to further expand the resource.
The mine is currently developed to a depth of approximately 100m below surface. Ore body widths are up to 3m wide and strike up to 200m on individual lodes. An exploration cross-cut to test approximately 10 structures enables Focus to more accurately assess each for mining.
The Mount Project Photos
