Manuka Resources is readying for a restart of gold doré production at its Mt Boppy gold mine in the Cobar Basin, New South Wales.
Manuka is targeting first gold production from Mt Boppy in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a processing and production facility being relocated from the Wonawinta silver mine.
This moves away from Manuka’s previous method of hauling ore 150km south to Wonawinta for processing, which cost approximately $27 per tonne.
The fit-for-purpose Mt Boppy operation is forecast to be low-capex ($11.6 million) and high-margin ($19 million), with Manuka forecasting savings of about $7 million per annum to process on-site.
Manuka is relocating a 400-kilowatt (kW) ball mill from the Wonawinta site to Mt Boppy. This equipment was deemed superfluous at Wonawinta after the installation of a 1800kW ball mill.
The company has also made cost-effective acquisitions, purchasing a second-hand inline pressure jig (IPJ) and intensive leach reactor (ILR), resulting in a saving of approximately $850,000 compared to the original budget.
These pieces of equipment are currently being refurbished at Gekko Systems, their original equipment manufacturer.
Executive chair Dennis Karps said Manuka Resources is on track to achieve its production goals.
“The execution of our plan to restart gold operations at Mt Boppy is well underway,” Karps said. “The opportunistic purchasing of selected second-hand processing equipment is consistent with our low capex strategy that includes leveraging and repurposing existing assets.”
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