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Barton Gold (ASX: BGD) has more than doubled the underground mineral resource at its Challenger gold project in South Australia to 230,000 ounces, strengthening the development case for restarting operations at the former producing mine.
The updated underground resource of 230,000 ounces grading 3.65 grams per tonne (g/t) gold forms part of a broader resource upgrade that has lifted Challenger’s total JORC 2012 mineral resource to 370,000 ounces.
Combined with the nearby Tarcoola project, Barton’s proposed Hub 1 operation now hosts approximately 400,000 ounces of gold resources.
The increase follows detailed geological remodelling and the integration of 9387m of new reverse circulation and diamond drilling results.
Importantly, much of the mineralisation is located within or adjacent to existing underground workings and open-pit infrastructure, potentially reducing the capital required to access future production areas.
Barton managing director Alexander Scanlon said the underground resource upgrade had exceeded expectations.
“Detailed remodelling of the Challenger high-grade underground has surprised to the upside, with resources more than doubling to 230koz @ 3.65 g/t Au,” Scanlon said.
“This mine has extensive existing development and produced over 1 million gold ounces from 2002 to 2018. Third party review indicates significant growth potential through near-mine drilling.”
The underground resource comprises approximately 206,800 ounces above the 215mRL level and another 23,000 ounces within the deeper Challenger Deeps area.
Preliminary modelling by SRK Consulting has also identified opportunities to incorporate additional high-grade mineralisation through further near-mine drilling.
Barton plans to expedite a review of underground development options as it assesses the potential for renewed mining.
The resource update has also confirmed the new Challenger 3 deposit along strike from the existing Challenger West and Main open pits.
Across Challenger and Tarcoola, Barton has identified 169,000 ounces of potentially open-pittable resources, including fresh mineralisation and existing tailings storage facility material.
The Tarcoola stockpiles resource has also been upgraded to the higher-confidence Indicated category.
These resources could provide additional feed options for a future operation centred on the Challenger site.
A key advantage is Barton’s ownership of the fully permitted Central Gawler Mill, which could provide an established processing pathway without requiring construction of an entirely new facility.
“Our fully permitted Central Gawler Mill offers considerable infrastructure leverage with a potentially shorter, lowercost, and lower-risk pathway to operations,” Scanlon said.
“Reanimation of the mill would also materially enhance the development optionality of our adjacent Challenger underground mine, and our regional assets Tarcoola, Tolmer, and Wudinna.”
Barton is undertaking a definitive feasibility study to assess capital and operating costs associated with a potential Challenger restart.
The company has a broader resource inventory of approximately 2.3 million ounces of gold and 3.1 million ounces of silver across its South Australian portfolio, with a longer-term production ambition of 150,000 ounces of gold annually.
The expanded Challenger resource, existing mine development and processing infrastructure strengthen Barton’s potential development pathway, although the economics of restarting operations remain subject to feasibility work.
Attention now turns to the definitive feasibility study, further near-mine drilling and the accelerated review of underground development options, which will help determine how the enlarged resource can be incorporated into a future mining operation.
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