Barton dispatches second round of materials from mill cleanout in hunt for more leftover gold

Already about $1.1 million to the good after the first round result from cleaning up at the mothballed Central Gawler mill in South Australia, Barton Gold (ASX: BGD) hopes it has swept up more gold ounces with its second of third parcels of gold-bearing materials.

Barton’s first parcel of 3.8 tonnes yielded about 375oz of gold, worth roughly A$1.1 million.

That 3.8 tonnes returned gold at an average grade of 3,000 grams per tonne.

The mill is located at the historic Challenger mine which operated between 2002 and 2018, producing 1.2 million ounces of gold.

Now its second parcel of recovered materials, totalling 4.5 tonnes, has been sent to a laboratory for processing.

Fingers will be crossed that the results will be as spectacular as the first results.

Third batch will follow

In all, the cleanout conducted in December recovered an estimated 10 tonnes-plus of gold bearing materials. from the gold room, balls mills, sumps, floor and gravity circuit.

This second parcel contains 4.5 wet tonnes of material which has been pre-screened for processing.

A third batch will be sent to the laboratory in July.

Hoping for ‘material increase’ in value

Barton Gold does caution that the first parcel results figures were indicative only “and final recoveries may vary significantly based upon metallurgical and other factors.

“The recovered materials are also highly variable in nature, therefore the first parcel results do not forecast results for the second parcel of materials,” the company notes.

However, Managing director Alex Scanlon says the results from this second parcel should be available by June 30.

One-third of the recovered materials delivered about 375oz of gold.

“We hope we can confirm a material increase in contained value for shareholders,” he added.

Only gold mill in region

Barton Gold listed on the ASX in 2021 bringing to the market South Australian assets.

These were the Tarcoola project near the junction of the trans-continental and Darwin railway lines and, 70km to the south, the unmined Tunkillia project which had a JORC resource in place.

In addition, Barton had acquired the region’s only gold ore processing mill, the Challenger plant (as well as the mothballed Challenger mine which is not deemed a priority).

Tarcoola until 1956 was South Australia’s major hard rock gold mine, producing 77,000oz at an average 37.5g/t.

Mining resumed at Tarcoola in 2016 when the former WPG Resources worked the open pit and hauled ore to the Challenger mill, the operation lasting until 2018.