- 01Maiden Tampia MRE: 223,300oz at 1.5g/t.
- 02Includes 118,500oz indicated and 104,800oz inferred.
- 03Forrestania targets an Edna May mill restart in the new year.
Forrestania Resources (ASX: FRS) has released a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Tampia deposit within the newly acquired Edna May gold hub in Western Australia’s wheatbelt region.
The MRE totals 4.6 million tonnes grading 1.5 grams per tonne for 223,300 ounces gold at a 0.5g/t cut-off and comprises an indicated 2.5Mt at 1.47g/t for 118,500oz and an inferred 2.1Mt at 1.56g/t for 104,800oz.
The estimate is based on the drilling of 4,496 reverse circulation (including grade control) and diamond holes for approximately 180,027 metres completed between 2015 and 2022 by former owner Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS).
Approximately half of the holes were downhole surveyed using north seeking gyroscopes and 90% of the remaining holes were drilled to a final depth of 45m.
Edna May Acquisition
Forrestania agreed to acquire the Edna May operation from Ramelius in June for a total consideration of $200 million in cash and $100 million in Forrestania shares.
The deal included a 2.9 million tonnes per annum hybrid carbon-in-leach/carbon-in-pulp processing plant, six tenements including Tampia and Symes, and an existing 945,000oz gold resource.
On completion of the transaction last month, Ramelius became a substantial shareholder in Forrestania, providing it with continued exposure to Edna May along with potential future value created through a re-start of the plant and ongoing consolidation of the region.
Forrestania sees the acquisition as complementary to its existing Lake Johnston processing hub which is currently undergoing refurbishment and advances its disciplined consolidation strategy focused on securing high-quality, advanced, permitted and synergistic gold assets.
Additional Resources
“This maiden estimate highlights a significant addition to the Forrestania mineral resources inventory, providing additional ounces within trucking distance of the Edna May processing facility,” chair David Geraghty said.
“With Tampia located within our newly acquired Westonia Hub, we believe this Mineral Resource will play an important role in Forrestania's strategy of establishing long-term gold production supported by multiple deposits located within haulage distance of existing processing infrastructure.”
Forrestania is targeting a restart of the Edna May mill in the new year, with ore supply from exisiting nearby resources to help assess the potential longer-term restart of the gold mining operation.
A pre-feasibility study last month demonstrated a long-life gold development opportunity underpinned by a maiden 402,000oz probable ore reserve and leveraging existing Edna May processing and site infrastructure.
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