Australian gold miner Kaiser Reef (ASX:KAU) has started development of the decline to access the additional high-grade mineralisation within the Nova deposit, part of the A1 Gold Mine in Victoria.
This is aimed at increasing high-grade gold production as the operation transitions from the current remnant gold mining.
The Nova mineralisation sits below the remnant mining operations. The 23 Level of the A1 Mine is the extent of historical workings.
Diamond drilling between 2020 and 2023 defined an extension of grade in both known and newly discovered quartz reefs in hydrothermally altered host dyke.
The host dyke has been drilled 143m below the 23 Level, which was as far as drilling rods would allow at the time, and is open at depth.
Kaiser initiated development to gain access in May.
The company now has access to the Dukes Reef, which was partially historically mined and returned average grades of over 15 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
Broken stockpile sampling returned grades of up to 49g/t and the central portion of the quartz vein returned grades up to 18.1g/t.
Kaiser is implementing a development drive along the length of the Dukes Reef, which is located between the historic 22 and 23 levels, to facilitate mechanised exploitation and increase overall production.
The company expects the reef to contribute to September quarter production.
The A1 Mine operated between 1861 and 1992, producing around 620,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 25g/t. Kaiser acquired the operation in January 2021 via the acquisition of Centennial Mining.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Kaiser Reef