Dewatering of the main pit at Rox Resources’ Youanmi gold project in Western Australia has been completed, exposing the historic decline and paving the way for the next phase of underground development.
The company said the transition to underground dewatering is now underway ahead of the imminent commencement of the Main and Pollard declines, marking the start of the company’s second underground mining operation at Youanmi.
The milestone forms part of broader development activity across the project, as Rox advances the site towards production.
Rox Resources managing director and chief executive officer Phill Wilding said completion of the first phase of dewatering was a “massive achievement” and a significant step in the development of the Youanmi gold mine.
Rox also reported a record month of underground development at the United North area, achieving 342m of advance during the period.
The company successfully fired the first ventilation rise in the United North ventilation circuit and said mineralisation had been intersected on the first development level as expected.
“We’ve also made major progress with supporting infrastructure at Youanmi, with the power station for Main Pit ready for commissioning this month and earthworks at the processing plant site underway ahead of construction starting in June,” Wilding said.
Rox said camp facilities have now been delivered and will provide accommodation for the project workforce once commissioned, as mining activity ramps up across Youanmi.
“In parallel to this on-site activity, we are also advancing major contracts for Youanmi while preparing for diamond drilling to begin later in the month,” Wilding said.
“The team has been hard at work at Youanmi, advancing our pathway to production on-schedule and reinforcing Rox’s position as one of Western Australia’s next high-grade gold producers.”
The FID cleared the way for construction of a new processing plant, tailings storage facility and power station with a solar array.
The project will also include a redesign of the existing West Main waste rock dump to become the new run-of-mine pad.
Rox secured approval for the FID following receipt of an amended Mining Development and Closure Proposal from the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration.
Development is backed by $350 million in credit commitments from a syndicate of banks, alongside a $200 million placement and an $18 million share purchase plan.