Crater to trade higher, reports smooth progress

 AUSTRALIAN company Crater Gold Mining should trade higher after reporting a smooth progress towards its first gold production from the high grade zone project at its Crater Mountain project, in Eastern Highlands.

A mining plant is currently being commissioned and installed, rail and underground rail trucks are on site, and recent drilling results will enable a detailed mine planning. 

Crater Gold had in May estimated first year production at 10,000 ounces per annum at a cost of US$394 (K937.44) per ounce.

The application for a mining lease with a proposal for development application was lodged with the Mineral Resources Authority (MRA) at the beginning of May.

The HGZ is earmarked to commence gold production and is subject to the outcome of the mining lease application. 

In support of the submissions to MRA, the miner had completed and reported the results of fourteen diamond drill holes at sufficiently close spacing to give confidence to geological and structural interpretation to enable modelling for a maiden resource.

A small scale but high grade underground gold mining operation using hand held mining methods is proposed.

Metallurgical processing will be by simple gravity concentration via crushing, milling with a wet hammer mill and concentration using a centrifugal concentrator. 

The plant is of such a scale that in the initial phase it will be used for bulk sampling individual parcels of mineralised material currently stored on surface from the rock extracted during development of the drive and cross cuts.