The Chinese translation is being made; the original is shown for now.
Meeka Metals is progressing towards its second underground mine at its Murchison Gold Project in Western Australia, with development of the new Fairway decline underway as production from its existing Andy Well underground mine continues to ramp up.
According to the company, surface infrastructure and portal establishment at Fairway, at Turnberry, were completed in September, with decline development commencing in early October. The new mine has an initial probable ore reserve of 620,000 tonnes at 2.5 grams per tonne gold for 50,000oz, with first ore expected in January 2027.
Located about 20km from the processing plant, Fairway will provide a second high-grade ore source alongside Andy Well.
Meeka managing director and chief executive officer Tim Davidson said the development was an important part of its production plans.
“First ore is expected in January 2027, which will lift production and reduce our reliance on any single mining area,” he said.
The project is being advanced alongside a ramp-up at Andy Well, where underground production increased as more stoping areas became available. Meeka delivered 4.9koz at 3.9g/t gold from the mine, compared with 3.5koz at 2.8g/t in the June quarter, with stoping commencing on the Judy lode alongside ongoing production from the Wilber lode.
Production from the current mining horizon also continued to reconcile positively against the ore reserve grade, supporting the company’s focus on supplying more higher-grade underground material to the mill.
That transition helped lift quarterly gold production to 7237oz, from 6424oz in the previous quarter, while the processing plant treated almost 150,000 tonnes at an average metallurgical recovery of 95 per cent. Davidson said the plant had reached its target annualised throughput rate of 600,000 tonnes during the quarter.
“Our focus has now shifted to delivering a growing proportion of higher-grade underground ore to the mill,” he said.
Meeka is also investing in the infrastructure needed to support the next phase of production, with a multi-sensor ore sorter installed in early October and commissioning commencing mid-month. Construction of a new two-stage tailings storage facility began during the quarter, with the first stage expected to be commissioned in the December quarter and the facility designed to provide 10 years of capacity.
Davidson said the investment, alongside ongoing deep drilling at Turnberry, was intended to support a “stable, long-life” production plan, with drilling below the Fairway Ore Reserve returning further high-grade intercepts that the company plans to investigate from underground drill platforms.
The company’s growth capital expenditure fell by more than 70 per cent quarter-on-quarter, from $17.5 million to $4.9 million, as it moved from mine development towards steadier production. Meeka reported $13.5 million in mine operating cash flow and $8.5 million in net mine cash flow after growth capital investment, with cash reserves reaching $51 million at September 30.
Meeka has also completed its acquisition of Mt Holland in Western Australia’s Forrestania greenstone belt, adding an initial 270,000oz Mineral Resource at 2.4g/t gold across three deposits. The largely underexplored tenement package will give the company another area to pursue resource growth through further drilling.
Subscribe to Australian Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.