Adelong

The Adelong Gold Project is located in southern New South Wales, 15 kilometres west of the town of Tumut and about 80 kilometres south east of the regional centre of Wagga Wagga.

Adelong Gold Project Being Developed by Challenger Mines Pty Ltd

The project is being developed by Challenger Mines Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Gold Limited, a company formed in 2010 to invest in promising gold projects. Challenger Mines Limited was acquired by Macquarie Gold in January 2011.

Adelong Mine to be Commissioned in October 2015

The new mine that is expected to be commissioned in October, 2015, 20 years after being granted mining approval, is to employ around 17 people on a full time basis at its underground mining operation. It is planned that the new mine will process around 100,000 tonnes of gold bearing ore annually that will give the project an initial mine life of at least five or six years.

Gold Mining History at Adelong Goes Back as far as 1841

Gold was first discovered in the Adelong area in 1841 and in 1857 at the Adelong Gold Project site itself. The gold field was worked as alluvial and reef mining operations up until 1942. Reported production from 1857 to 1941 being 800,000 ounces of gold.

Interest was shown in the Adelong Gold Project site again in 1979 and since that time more than 450 exploratory holes have been drilled totalling close to 35,000 metres. Most of this exploration has taken place on the Challenger Reef.

Construction of a Decline to the Challenger Reef Began in 1988

An exploratory adit/decline, was constructed from the surface to the Challenger Reef in the old Challenger mine workings during 1988 and 1989. This decline was about 200 metres long with a further 93 metres of development taking place on the Challenger Reef itself. At this time a bulk sample of 1,197 tonnes producing a grade of 5.6 grams a tonne of gold was taken from a full lode thickness.

Adelong Gold Mining Project to Continue Further Exploration While Producing

Challenger Mines Pty Ltd is to build a processing plant at the project site and continue exploratory work with a further two year drilling program to further increase the mine's known reserves and resources.

The current low cost development of the Adelong mine is made possible because of the ready availability of rather extensive mullock dumps that can be treated immediately through an uncomplicated gold recovery system.

Initial production from the Adelong Gold Project will be used to generate a cash flow that will be used to finance ongoing exploration as well as any mine infrastructure expansion that may be required as a result of a positive exploration program.