Areas of Focus
GBM operates in 3 geographically based Areas of Focus. Each area contains numerous mining or exploration licenses.
1. Inglewood
Comprises Mining Licence 4639 and other tenements at Inglewood, plus sub-projects at Wedderburn, Kingower and the Harvest Home & Queen's Birthday JV's
Key Features:
a. Maxwells mine - fully refurbished and operational, stoping of high grade ore shoots commencing.
b. Numerous well delineated high volume ore targets outside Maxwell Mine - these targets are accessible by either open cut, a planned mini-decline and the alluvials are multiple with easy surface access
c. New Maxwell Processing Plant - completion by end March 08, commissioning April 08
GBM has reopened the Maxwells Mine and intersected a high grade shoot which has returned grades in excess of 1 ounce per ton from chip and bulk sampling. The company is commissioning a processing plant to treat tailings and the high grade ore from the Maxwells shaft utilizing gravity technology.
Harvest Home & Queens Birthday JV
GBM has entered into two 50% joint venture arrangements with the Fiddlers Ck Gold Mining Co to develop the mineral resources on EL’s 4985 and 5029 at Goldsborough near Dunolly in Central Victoria.
The harvest Home area has been subjected to a significant exploration program in the 1990’s which has outlined a large resource. It is planned to extend the resource with drilling and increase confidence in the data with a view to undertaking a feasibility study for mining.
At the Queens Birthday JV, past production from the Queen Birthday Group of mines in the late 1800,s exceeded 100,000 ounces. It is planned to model this deposit and explore for repetitions at depth and along strike.
2. Avoca/Fiddlers Creek
The Fiddlers Creek project, comprising Mining Licence 4023 and 4548 of 230 hectares, covers the Fiddlers Creek Deformed Zone. The site contains an existing mine and processing plant. GBM intends a substantial further exploration program to target the deformed zone with a new mineralization model. Sampling drilling and trenching will be used to target discrete blind mineralization pods which are to be systematically explored for along the known lines of veining within the deformed zone, to determine the appropriate means of accessing and processing the material prior to further commencement of mining.
ISG
Controls a group of well defined Alluvial gold sites in the Avoca region and is intended to be set up as an alluvial mining operation.
Along with gold production a necessary secondary business is production and sale of large quantities of Industrial products, mainly Gravel and Sand, which arise as by products of both the ISG alluvial gold operations and also arise from other of GBM’s processing operations.
The alluvial gold grade of all the present ISG targets is viewed as attractive – especially given sale of the industrial materials associated with them is budgeted in to pay for the stripping of overburden and extraction and processing costs.
An expanded mobile processing plant is to be assembled from existing and to be purchased equipment to allow increased production of gold and various grades of industrial products.
3. Bendigo
Wilsons Hill
A mining licence covering the historic Wilsons Hill goldfield has been bolstered with the addition of a large Exploration Licence covering the alluvial leads surrounding the Wilsons Hill Inlier. The area was subjected to a significant exploration program by Western Mining Corporation in the 1980's, the data from which the company has obtained. This data has been modeled, further exploration is planned and mine planning has been commenced.
Sebastian JV
GBM owns a 25% joint venture interest in an advanced exploration project covering EL3105 with joint venture partner ASX listed Castlemaine Gold. Significant drilling in the past 12 months has outlined a repetition to the main controlling structure at Sebastian and extended mineralization along strike.
Diamond Hill
Two Mining licences on the Southern end of the Bendigo Goldfield. While the past and present mining on the Bendigo field exceeds 800m below surface, the deepest working on these licences is 75m.
Laura
Greater Bendigo Gold Mines Limited (ASX:GBM) announces that 100% owned subsidiary Kralcopic Pty Ltd has exercised its option to purchase the Laura Mine, situated at Redcastle, some 40 Km east of Bendigo and is covered by Mining Licence 4465. This Mining Licence covers an area of intense veining and is the structural culmination of a number of geological structures.