Australia-based KBL Mining has produced the first 497oz of gold from its Mineral Hill mine in New South Wales.
Prior to this development, the company has moved to become a 100% surface gold and silver producer over the last eight months from being an underground operation.
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During this time, the company doubled the existing flotation plant capacity and began production of a gold concentrate, in addition to installing a new CIL circuit.
The process plant can now float gold concentrates, leach gold ores, float copper, lead and zinc concentrates through separate circuits.
Recently, KBL also completed underground development in order to access future underground lodes within the Southern Ore Zone.
The company currently concentrates on the high-grade (6.5g/t Au) Pearse open-cut operation.
KBL said it will be able to reduce the equipment size to excavate and transport ore to the process plant located 850m from the pit by moving the majority of waste.
Some 86,586t of ore has been extracted from Pearse and processed through the Mineral Hill process plant at a rate of 400,000t a year.
The plant began processing the Pearse open-cut ore in September 2015.
KBL has produced and exported 3,617t of concentrate, containing around 2oz of gold and 10oz of silver per tonne to date.
Image: KBL produced the first 497oz of gold from its Mineral Hill mine. Photo: courtesy of KBL Mining Limited.
