The ore production follows the start of open pit mining at the project in late April 2021
The Tampia deposit was discovered in the 1980s by BHP. (Credit: Jingming Pan on Unsplash)
Australia-based Ramelius Resources has started ore mining at the Tampia gold mine located near Narembeen, Western Australia.
The commencement of ore production follows the start of open pit mining at the project in late April 2021.
After mining the first ore from the North Pit, Ramelius now plans to shortly move the mining to the higher grade Mace and South Pit areas at the project.
The company said that the Tampia project is set to deliver the first road train of high grade ore to the Edna May processing facility in early July 2021.
Ramelius managing director Mark Zeptner said: “We are pleased to have commenced the mining of high-grade ore from our Tampia gold mine on schedule with our published mine plan.
“This is the culmination of the efforts of many employees, contractors, members of the local community and the Shires of Narembeen, Merredin & Westonia.
“Gold from Tampia will represent a significant proportion of our FY2022 production target and be our first new mine in the Western Australian wheatbelt, where we believe we will deliver significant returns for all stakeholders.”
The Tampia deposit, which was discovered in the 1980s by BHP, is located 100km south of the Edna May gold mine in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
Covering an area of 327km², the mine consists of two granted mining leases and nine exploration licences. The project was acquired Ramelius, with the takeover of Explaurum in early 2019.
The mine’s feasibility study, which was completed in April 2020, focused on the option to haul ore to Edna May processing facility.
Currently, Ramelius’ Edna May operation processes ore from its underground and open pit operations as well as hauled ore from the Marda gold mine.
The Australian gold producer is also developing the Penny gold project, apart from being the operator of the Mt Magnet, Edna May, Vivien, Marda and Tampia gold mines.