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Jul 2004 - Heritage Gold NZ

Heritage Gold NZ Ltd (HTM) – Recently Completed Scoping Study Highlights the Viability of HTM’s Karangahake region

  • Heritage have recently completed a scoping study which focused on the mining viability of the Talisman mine within the Karangahake Project, and resulted in a conceptual relatively small underground operation treating ore at an average grade of 13g/t and producing 50,000ozpa from late 2006 / early 2007.
  • Heritage have made significant progress in the past year and recently announced initial indicated and inferred JORC gold resources of almost 110,000oz (335,400t @ 10.2g/tAu & 40.7g/tAg) in the old Talisman mine, as part of the completion of Phase 1. HTM have already started on their Phase 2 aimed at defining a 300,000ozgold equivalent resource on which to base a preliminary feasibility study.
  • Consequently HTM are in the process of refurbishing part of the old Talisman mine and have focused on the adit accessing the 8 Level Maria Lode (and extension on strike to the BM37 cross-cut), with its link through a main cross-cut into (and on the same elevation due to a different numbering system) 5A Level Crown/Welcome Lode. The main cross-cut also passes through the Mystery Lode, which has little historical record, but also appears to contain mineable resources.
  • The BM37 cross-cut was renowned in the early 1990s because of its intersection of 1.8m @ 682 g/t gold and 2,094 g/t silver, with grab samples reputedly up to 1.4% (13.8kg/t) gold. It had been overlooked because it lies in the Dubbo shoot or section which was historically regarded as unpayable. While the BM37 area has been partly “grab-mined” before the previous mine closed in the early 1990s, it appears to have been barely touched from a mining viewpoint.
  • Apart from the old Talisman section, there appears to be a number of potential ore sources within Karangahake and its adjacent region, based on the examination of the mine plans, extensions on strike north-east beyond Taukani Hill to Rahu, and south-west into the Dominion Knoll region.
  • At Rahu (north-east on strike from Karangahake) and following a conceptual downthrown model, HTM are drawing parallels between the similar geological setting, geophysical resistivity anomalies and delineated vein structures of the Favona discovery near the Martha Mine, to the geological setting and resistivity anomalies at Rahu. Some initial drilling has found encouragement.
  • Written by: Keith Goode
  • Thursday, 29 July 2004