Katanning gold project

The Katanning gold project is located 275 kilometres southeast of Perth, in the southern region of Western Australia, about 35 kilometres from the regional centre of Katanning, which is fortunate in that its development will not require camp accommodation, nor will it require water, or power to be brought to the site, as sufficient supplies of both are already available.

Ausgold Began Exploration at the Katanning Project Site in 2010

Ausgold Limited began exploring the Katanning Gold Project site in September, 2010 and has now announced it has located a gold bearing strike 20 kilometres in length that incorporates many gold targets that have been identified from geochemistry testing, air core drilling and RC (reverse circulation) drilling. The RC drilling and diamond drilling rigs were used to drill out and extend known gold bearing deposits and air core drilling was used to refine the various targets obtained via soil multi-element geochemistry. The Katanning discovery is situated within the larger Katanning Regional Project that covers a tenure area of 7,500 square kilometres, located to the south and east of the large gold producing, Boddington Gold Project. The discovery confirms Ausgold identification of a major Archaean greenstone belt extending over a length of 200 kilometres, all within its controlled tenure area.

Katanning Gold Project Scoping Study Proves Positive

Since the Katanning Gold Project discovery, Ausgold, has completes a Scoping Study with the aim of developing an open pit mining operation at the site, along with the construction of a conventional carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing plant. The Scoping Study comprised a Mining Study on open pit design using Whittle pit optimisation technology that was carried out by SRK Consulting. The study also incorporated a metallurgy and ore processing review.

The Katanning Gold Project Scoping Study was positive in that it showed the project had the potential to produce an initial gold production of 189,370 recovered ounces of gold with a positive cash flow with a production rate of 47,340 ounces of gold a year over a four year period.

The study recommended the development of the Jinka and Dingo deposits by open cut mining and using the usual drilling, blasting and hauling methods of open pit mining. It also allowed for a contract mining fleet using a hydraulic excavator of around 120 to 200 tonnes and dump trucks with 60 or more tonnes capacity. The Scoping Study also allowed for the processing plant at the Katanning Project mine site to treat the ore by using conventional CIL methods that included crushing, grinding, leaching, elution/electrowinning and smelting, in its production of gold bullion.

It was recommended that the project be developed by upgrading the existing tailings storage facility ROM loading area that was previously in use when the Badgebup gold mine was in production at the same site, as well as construction of haulage roads.

Ausgold Limited Uses Cutting Edge Technology to Target Prospective Areas of Australia

Ausgold Limited was created to make use of cutting edge innovations in geoscience in the targeting of likely prospective areas in Australia for gold and/or copper mineralisation. This type of undertaking was previously carried out by an internationally recognised group that is part of the Curtin University and the University of Western Australia, known as the, Centre for Exploration Targeting, which used a team of experienced geoscientists specialising in exploration targeting of gold mineralisation systems.