AXG - Antipodes Gold [formerly GEL - Glass Earth]

[elZorro]

Newmont Waihi has started to be a bit more public about the prospects at WKP, at an industry conference. This could be fairly important, via NZResources.

Newmont Waihi Gold Limited

8 August 2012
Higher grade targets identified at WKP
by Ross Louthean
The usually coy nature of Newmont group about the progress of the WKP gold find near Waihi wasn’t evident with the positive comments made by a senior executive at Diggers and Dealers in his presentation on the Asia Pacific operations...

More on this if you pay a subscription.
http://nzresources.com/showarticle.a...5&gid=30003585

From another reporter, no mention of WKP, it's hard to pronounce in full.

Mining Weekly had this report. Which Waihi underground mine in 2016? It's probably Correnso. But there must have been some mention of WKP too.

Jeff Huspeni has been an exploration geologist, and has visited Waihi since his new appointment as VP of the Asia-Pacific region for Newmont in 2011.

Higher grade targets identified at WKP

Ross Louthean — 8 August 2012
Operator for the exciting WKP gold discovery near Waihi, Newmont Waihi Gold, has been able to identify potential high grade zones at the prospect which may accelerate exploration.

At the Diggers & Dealers Forum in Australia’s gold capital of Kalgoorlie, Newmont Asia Pacific’s senior vice president Jeff Huspeni told NZResources.com that recent diamond holes into the prospect had identified what could be a feeder zone.

There would now, he said, be a focus on adding grade to what appears to be a large system.
Newmont owns 65% of WKP with the balance held by active New Zealand gold explorer Glass Earth Gold Ltd (NZAX & TSX-V: GEL).

NZResources.com suggested to Huspeni that WKP was perhaps the most exciting emerging gold discovery in New Zealand. He did not disagree.

In his presentation on the Waihi Golden Link project, Huspeni said the company was advancing the Correnso and Martha Deeps projects and it was projected that Correnso-Martha Deeps would cost $US240-250 million to develop and would achieve operating costs in a range of $US800-$US900/ounce.

The company was targeting starting a Martha exploration decline in the second half of this year, once permitting was obtained.

Currently Newmont Waihi Gold’s focus is on finalising operations on the Favona Lode underground mine and advancing development of the nearby Trio underground operation that will provide an operating life before Correnso comes on stream possibly late in 2014 or early 2015. Huspeni said the Waihi Golden Link project was aiming for production in the range of 100-125,000 oz per annum.

Newmont Asia Pacific's production from its region – taking in mines in Western Australia, Northern Territory, New Zealand and Indonesia – was targeting 2012 production in the range of 1.73-1.8 M oz and operating costs ranging from $US800-850 M, and attributable copper production of between 145-165 M lb.

A pearl for the Australian operations remains the Callie mine in the Northern Territory’s Tanami Desert, a region that has produced 8 M oz, with 75% coming from Callie where the company is now sinking a deep vertical shaft to access deeper ore positions on this durable and high-grade mine.

Deep intersections on Callie Deeps have included 10 metres @ 23.3 grams/tonne gold, 45m @ 28.8 g/t and 43m @ 11.5 g/t Au.

Exploration near the mine has outlined the Oberon discovery which Huspeni said had “Callie-like” mineralisation and that this “exciting” target could expand the inventory of open-pit and underground mineralisation.
He said the Callie Deeps shaft would also provide potential access to deeper ore in Oberon.

The other major Australian asset was the 50/50 joint venture on Kalgoorlie’s Super Pit – which again holds the crown as Australia’s largest gold producer – where in the six months to June attributable production to Newmont was 175,000 oz.

Attributable reserves at the Super Pit were 4.4 M oz.
Another global giant Barrick Mines is the project partner.
In the quest to contain operating costs the now-imposed carbon tax by the Australian Government would, according to MiningBusiness.net add a per annum $US36 M to operating costs within the country, and for the relatively new Boddington mine it would represent between $US24-27 M.
Attachments
Newmont's Diggers and Dealers presentation. (Adobe PDF File)

Newmont is determined to replace all reserves as they are mined, and to increase production to reduce per ounce costs. In perspective, Boddington is a big mine already, 1Moz having been recovered within 1.5 years. But if WKP can step up to this kind of output, it would make a big impression on gold mining in NZ. Maybe this WKP feeder zone is the undisclosed results from the lower half of drill WKP31.