NQ Minerals Plc (AQSE:NQMI) has announced that the Company has now signed all necessary agreements and made the necessary payments to purchase and take immediate possession of the high-grade and historic Beaconsfield Gold Mine in Tasmania, Australia.
The Beaconsfield Gold Mine has historic recorded production of c.1.8 million ounces of gold averaging c.15 grams per tonne (c.½ ounce per tonne) and was closed in 2012 due to the low gold price at that time. The gold price has since increased by over 100% and the Company plans to re-open the mine as soon as practicably possible.
NQ plans to recommission the gold processing plant, which is currently under care and maintenance, and re-open the mine by developing a new modern mine decline access into the Beaconsfield Mine from surface to reconnect into the existing mine workings at the lower section of the orebody, which comprises all of the current stated gold resources. This new decline will be capable of running large modern mining equipment and men/materials/rock from surface to anywhere in the mine underground workings and will allow for the most efficient low-cost operations possible.
NQ is currently increasing production at its flagship Hellyer Gold Mine in Tasmania, Australia. On May 7, 2020, NQ also announced a new JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource Estimate of the lower section of the Beaconsfield Gold Mine of 1.454 million tonnes grading 10.3 grams per tonne (g/t) for 483,000 ounces of gold. Significant additional gold potential is still to be assessed in the upper section of the old Beaconsfield Mine workings, plus the orebody remains open at depth.
The Beaconsfield Gold Mine gathered the attention of the world in 2006, when a minor earthquake triggered an underground rock fall trapping three miners.
David Lenigas, NQ Minerals Chairman, said: “Beaconsfield is an exceptional high-grade gold asset and will provide a solid platform to bring the Company’s second mine in Australia into production. The Company is now focused on bringing the Beaconsfield gold processing plant back into operational status as soon as practicable. The mine has a long and rich history in Northern Tasmania, and we understand the importance of this heritage. We are looking forward to bringing jobs and economic activity back to Beaconsfield.”
