Owned and operated by Karora Resources since June 10, 2019, the Higginsville Gold Operations ("HGO") are located approximately 75km south of the Beta Hunt Mine in Higginsville, Western Australia.
The operation includes a 1.6Mtpa processing plant, 192 mining tenements including the Aquarius, Hidden Secret, Mousehollow, Two Boys, Baloo, Pioneer, Fairplay North, Mitchell, Wills, Challenge and Mount Henry deposits.
Avoca Resources Limited (Avoca) initially purchased the Higginsville exploration assets from Gold Fields in June 2004. The Trident underground deposit, historically the largest deposit at HGO, was discovered by Avoca in 2004 with mining commencing at the deposit in 2007. In April 2007 Avoca raised A$125 million to commission a new process plant facility at Higginsville. In that same year Avoca purchased the neighbouring Chalice deposit from Chalice Gold Mines Limited. Gold production began in 2008 with the first gold pour on July 1, 2008.
Alacer Gold Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alacer Gold a company incorporated in Canada, acquired HGO after it merged with Avoca Resources Limited (Avoca) in 2011.
On October 29, 2013 Alacer Gold Corporations completed the sale of its Australian Business Unit, which included HGO and its assets, to Westgold Resources Pty Ltd who was a wholly owned subsidiary of Metals X Ltd at that time.
In July, 2015 Metals X acquired the Mt Henry Gold Project from Panoramic Resources Ltd and Matsa Resources Limited.
On December 1, 2016 Westgold Resources Limited demerged from Metals X Ltd. Avoca remained a subsidiary of Westgold Resources Limited and was part of the resultant demerger.
Karora Resources acquired HGO outright on June 10, 2019 from Westgold Resources Limited.
Higginsville is located almost entirely within the well-mineralized Archean Kalgoorlie Terrane, between the gold mining centres of Norseman and Saint Ives. The Archaean stratigraphy has a general northward trend comprising multiply deformed ultramafic – gabbro – basalt successions adjoined by sediments to the west and east. Shearing and faulted contacts are common. The units have been structurally repeated by east over west thrust faulting.
The majority of gold mineralization projects along the Trident line-of-lode and is hosted by Poseidon Gabbro and high MgO dyke complexes. Mineralization is hosted within or marginal to quartz veining and is structurally and lithologically controlled. Higginsville is also host to significant palaeochannel mineralization. Mineralized zones comprise both placer gold, normally near the base of the channel-fill sequences, and chemically-precipitated secondary gold within the channel-fill materials and underlying saprolite. These gold concentrations commonly overlie, or are adjacent to, primary mineralized zones within Archaean bedrock.
Currently, Karora is mining from the Spargos open pit mine in the Higginsville Greater area and the Aquarius and Two Boys underground operations in the Higginsville Central Area.
Processing is conducted through Karora Resources' Higginsville processing plant.
Higginsville Gold Mineral Resources as at January 31, 2022
Mineral Resource | Measured | Indicated | Measured & Indicated | Inferred | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kt | g/t | Koz | Kt | g/t | Koz | Kt | g/t | Koz | Kt | g/t | Koz | |
HGO Central | 847 | 3.1 | 85 | 3,380 | 2.8 | 307 | 4,227 | 2.9 | 392 | 1,724 | 3.1 | 172 |
HGO Greater | 12,224 | 1.3 | 514 | 12,882 | 1.5 | 624 | 25,106 | 1.4 | 1,137 | 4,647 | 1.7 | 256 |
Stockpiles | 2,378 | 0.8 | 58 | - | - | - | 2,378 | 0.8 | 58 | - | - | - |
Total | 15,449 | 1.3 | 657 | 16,262 | 1.8 | 930 | 31,711 | 1.6 | 1,587 | 6,372 | 2.1 | 428 |
HGO Gold Mineral Reserves as at September 30, 2020
Mineral Reserve | Proven | Probable | Proven & Probable | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tonnes kt |
Grade g/t |
Ounces koz |
Tonnes kt |
Grade g/t |
Ounces koz |
Tonnes kt |
Grade g/t |
Ounces koz |
|
HGO Central | 340 | 2.2 | 24 | 3,016 | 2.0 | 194 | 3,357 | 2.0 | 218 |
HGO Greater | 7,988 | 1.3 | 333 | 5,454 | 1.5 | 268 | 13,442 | 1.4 | 602 |
Stockpiles | 175 | 0.8 | 5 | 778 | 0.8 | 21 | 953 | 0.8 | 25 |
Total | 8,503 | 1.3 | 362 | 9,249 | 1.6 | 483 | 17,752 | 1.5 | 845 |
Detailed Footnotes relating to Mineral Resource Estimates as at January 31, 2022
Detailed Footnotes relating to Mineral Reserve Estimates as at September 30, 2020
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