Overall copper and gold resources at the Mineral Hill Project in central NSW have been boosted by 26% with Kingston Resources Ltd (ASX:KSN) completing a resource update at the Jack’s Hut area within the existing Mining Leases.
The mineral resource estimate (MRE) for Jack’s Hut now totals 1.6 million tonnes at 0.9% copper, 1.25 g/t gold, 0.8% lead, 0.6% zinc and 20 g/t silver with the resource consolidating a series of previously identified deposits within the Mineral Hill mineralised system.
There are 608,000 tonnes in the indicated category with the remainder in the inferred category.
Previous producer
From 1993 to 1999 an underground mine at Jack’s Hut produced 705,067 tonnes of ore at 0.74% copper and 6.76 g/t gold for 11,913 tonnes of copper and 80,256 ounces of gold sold.
The Jack’s Hut MRE update brings the total resources at Mineral Hill to 8.9 million tonnes at 1.13 g/t gold, 28 g/t silver, 1.0% copper, 1.6% lead and 1.1% zinc, an increase of 26% in contained copper and gold.
“Near-term production opportunity”
Kingston Resources managing director Andrew Corbett said: “The team is very excited about the Jack’s Hut zone and newly minted mineral resource model.
"Jack’s Hut underground produced 11,913 tonnes of copper and 80,256 ounces of gold from 1993 to 1999.
"This deposit is one of many within the current fully approved Mining Leases that when included in our overall mining inventory has the potential to materially increase value for Kingston shareholders.
"Jack’s Hut is a high-grade copper-gold project which comprises both open pit and underground mining options.
"The project’s proximity to the operating processing plant means that Jack’s Hut provides a low-cost option for a near-term production opportunity.”
This MRE is the culmination of recent confirmation drilling, a full data review and updated geological model with assistance from external consultants Mineral Associates.
Jack’s Hut was mined previously and has existing underground development already in place.
Additional drilling
Kingston has planning underway to target this area with additional drilling, with Jack’s Hut potentially being added into the overall Life of Mine (LOM) plan for Mineral Hill.
The addition of this material could have a material impact on LOM concentrate sales.
Kingston Resources chief geologist Stuart Hayward said: “The new estimate brings Jack’s Hut back in line with the latest JORC 2012 reporting guidelines, and more importantly, enables these resources to be assessed for their economic potential.
“We plan to get targeted drilling at Jack’s Hut underway as soon as possible so that we can extend it at depth and improve the confidence of the Inferred portion of the resource.”
Consistent with the Southern Ore Zone Deposit (SOZ) MRE, the Jack’s Hut MRE has been reported using a $50/tonne net smelter return cut-off.
The estimate has consolidated numerous zones of mineralisation that were once modelled as separate regions. This allows for a detailed assessment of underground and open pit mining potential across the entire trend.