From Mining News today:Avoca unveiling Athena
Michael Quinn
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
AVOCA Resources claims to have confirmed its second major gold discovery at its Higginsville gold project in Western Australia, with the find flagged to have a "marked positive impact on the economics" of the company's proposed mine development later this year.
The new Athena Lodes have been defined over a 500m long moderately plunging shoot that's yet to be closed off. A resource estimate is anticipated by the end of the March quarter.
According to Avoca, the Athena veins have similarities to Croesus Mining's Norseman veins – a 5 million ounce gold camp 50km to the south with an average grade of 11 grams per tonne – and the nearby small Two Boys deposit that had an average grade of 11gpt.
Significantly though, Avoca said the Athena Lodes "exhibit an unusually thick quartz vein intersection in drilling [with] 50% of the drill intersections showing the mineralised vein has a true thickness of at least 5m".
Athena is around 150m from existing underground development, and near the 372,000oz Western Zone that Avoca plans to mine in 2006-07.
Avoca's pre-feasibility study for the Trident project at Higginsville (talking in the Western Zone) indicated an economically viable five-year underground operation with a potential mining inventory of 364,000oz – about 80% of the JORC-compliant resources currently at Higginsville.
The study used a gold price of $A620/oz, with the precious metal currently trading around $A735/oz.
Avoca expects to have a definitive feasibility completed in August with the aim of bringing Trident into production by the end of the year.
The company said it is continuing discussions with potential toll-treatment operators, and is considering development of opencut resources left by previous miners due to gold being $A450/oz.
Shares in Avoca were up 6c at 59c in morning trade.
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