Kingston to commence Hard Rock Mining at Mineral Hill
Released
Released
Announcement PDF
ASX/Media Announcement
31 May 2024
Kingston to commence Hard Rock Mining at Mineral Hill
Recommissioning the processing plant and restarting open pit mining in June
Highlights:
•
Successful Completion of Tailings Retreatment Project: Successful completion of the project in
May, generating approximately $25 million of operating cash flow,
•
Transition to Hard Rock Mining: Open pit mining scheduled to commence at Pearse North in June
2024, employing Kingston’s “owner-operator” mining approach. This transition reflects the Company's
long-term commitment to Mineral Hill and the region.
•
Long-Term Mine Life: Kingston has more than five years open and underground mine life at Mineral
Hill with an attractive mix of metals dominated by gold and copper.
•
On Budget Processing Plant Refurbishment: the Mineral Hill site team is finalising a $12.5 million
refurbishment of the processing plant, delivered within a tight budget and timeline.
•
Crushing and grinding of initial open pit oxide ore is scheduled for July, with gold and silver
production.
•
The flotation plant will be commissioned in August, providing Mineral Hill with full processing
capability to produce multiple metal concentrates alongside precious metal dore.
Kingston Resources Limited (ASX:KSN) (‘Kingston’, or ‘The Company’) is pleased to announce an update
on the transition from tailings retreatment to hard rock mining at Mineral Hill. Since acquiring Mineral Hill in
January 2022, Kingston has processed over 1.6Mt of tailings, generating a robust operating cash flow of
$25m. Also during this time, Kingston has completed several work programs aimed at establishing an open
pit and underground mine life of more than five years.
Most importantly, these programs have cultivated the Kingston team into a highly skilled owner mining
workforce capable of self-managing and self-performing all aspects of the mining cycle.
Mining will initially begin from two open pits at Pearse North and South, producing both gold and silver. This
will be followed by the initial underground at the Southern Ore Zone (SOZ), a polymetallic orebody producing
mainly copper (40%) and gold (40%). Kingston views Mineral Hill’s future as a long-term underground
operation with significant potential for expansion.
ASX: KSN
Shares on Issue: 707M
Market Cap: A$53M
Cash: (8 April 2024) A$10.7m
202/201 Miller Street,
North Sydney, NSW 2060
+61 2 8021 7492
info@kingstonresources.com.au
www.kingstonresources.com.au
@KSNResources
Figure 1: Mineral Hill – Operating Processing Plant – Multiple Concentrates and Dore
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Kingston Resources Managing Director, Andrew Corbett, comments:
“The Kingston board and management team take great pride in the work accomplished by the Mineral Hill
team over the past two years. In this time, our focus has been on hiring local people with varying degrees of
mining experience, including those new to the industry. This approach has allowed Kingston to develop and
train a dedicated team for the tailings project who are now transitioning to the open pit mining team. A
passionate, supportive and highly effective Kingston work culture has emerged.
The low-cost refurbishment of the plant will provide Kingston with a versatile operating polymetallic processing
facility, capable of processing all configurations of oxide and sulphide Cobar style mineralisation, containing
precious and base metal – Cu, Au, Zn, Pb & Ag. The existing CIL on site can maintain a throughput of 100tph,
with the current grinding circuit capable of running at 50tph.
Mineral Hill offers a unique opportunity within the Cobar region as it is a fully approved operating mine with a
license to operate for up to 700,000 tonnes per annum. It boasts a long-term tailings storage strategy, on-site
water storage, access to both mains and generator power, local residential work force, biodiversity offset,
cash backed environmental bond, and a highly supportive community.
We are thrilled to be completing the tailings project and transitioning to phase two of our strategy with Mineral
Hill. The open pit production will significantly increase cashflow to expand the business. Kingston’s aim is to
establish a long-life precious and base metal mine with both organic and inorganic expansion options.”
Figure 2: Pearse North open pit drilling is underway.
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Figure 4: Open pit fleet mobilisation – a new mining fleet has been mobilised to site which includes 6 x 45 tonne trucks, 1 x 50 tonne
excavator and 1 x 90 tonne excavator, 1 x D9 Dozer
Figure 5: Open pit production dril rig
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Figure 6: New motor control centre (MCC) and electrical network upgraded.
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Figure 7: Mineral Hill Plant refurbishment includes – crushers & ROM bin, conveyors, fine ore bins & feeder tunnels, mills & grinding
circuit, flotation plant, electrical network and supply, water supply, reagent dosing, safety equipment, instrumentation, pumps and piping.
www.kingstonresources.com.au
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ABOUT KINGSTON RESOURCES
Kingston Resources is currently producing gold from its Mineral Hill gold and copper mine in NSW and is
developing the 3.8Moz Misima Gold Project in PNG. The Company’s objective is to establish itself as a midtier gold and base metals company with multiple producing assets.
Mineral Hill Mine, NSW (100%)
•
•
•
•
•
Mine plan out to the end of 2027: Open pit and underground mining.
Significant upside: Current life of mine only utilises 22% of the current 8.9Mt of Mineral
Resources.
Infrastructure excellence: Extensive existing infrastructure with all permits and approvals
in place.
Exploration potential: Exceptional upside within current Mining Leases (ML) and
Exploration Licenses (EL).
Current Focus: Completion of the Tailings Project gold production, transitioning to open
pit mining at Pearse and production of concentrate for sale.
Misima Gold Project, PNG (100%)
•
•
•
•
•
DFS Validation: potential for a robust, scalable, and low-cost open pit operation.
Production Potential: Anticipated gold production of ~2.4Moz over a 20-Year Mine Life
(Avg. 128kozpa).
Strong Financial Viability: Pre-Tax Net Present Value (NPV) of A$956 Million (based on
a US$1,800/oz Gold Price).
Gold Price Upside: Highly leveraged to the upside of the gold price, amplifying potential
returns.
Current Focus: Prioritising ESIA reports, strategic funding & development strategies.
Mineral Hill is a gold and copper mine located in the Cobar Basin of NSW. In June 2023, the company
updated its life of mine plan, including both open pit and underground mining until 2027. The processing plant
currently operates a CIL, and work is well advanced to recommission the existing crushing, grinding and
flotation circuits for copper, lead and zinc concentrate production. In addition to current production, the
company is focused on meeting near mine production targets located on the existing MLs. The aim is to
extend the mine’s life through organic growth and consider regional deposits that could be processed at
Mineral Hill’s processing plant.
Misima hosts a JORC Resource of 3.8Moz Au and an Ore Reserve of 1.73Moz. Placer Pacific operated
Misima as a profitable open pit mine between 1989 and 2001, producing over 3.7Moz before it was closed
when the gold price was below US$300/oz. The Misima Project also offers great potential for additional
resource growth through exploration success targeting extensions and additions to the current Resource
base.
For further information regarding the Misima Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimate, see ASX
announcements on 24 November 2020 and 15 September 2021 and 6 June 2022. Further information is
included within the original announcements.
The Mineral Hill Mineral Resource estimate outlined below was released in ASX announcements on 18
November 2021 (TSF), 15 March 2023 (Pearse South and Pearse North), 24 November 2022 (Southern Ore
Zone), 21 March 2023 (Jack’s Hut) and 13 September 2011(Parkers Hill by KBL). The Ore Reserve estimate
outlined below was released in ASX announcements on 18 November 2021 (TSF), 15 March 2023 (Pearse
South and Pearse North). Further information is included within the original announcements.
Kingston is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in this
announcement. All material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resources and
Ore Reserve estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed.
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This release has been authorised by the Kingston Resources Limited Board. For all enquiries, please contact Managing Director,
Andrew Corbett, on +61 2 8021 7492.
MINERAL RESOURCES AND ORE RESERVES
Misima JORC 2012 Mineral Resource & Ore Reserve summary table
Resource Category
Cut-off (g/t Au)
Tonnes (Mt)
Gold Grade (g/t Au)
Silver Grade (g/t Ag)
Au (Moz)
Ag (Moz)
Indicated
0.3
97.7
0.79
4.3
2.5
13.4
Inferred
0.3
71.3
0.59
3.8
1.4
8.7
Total
0.3
169
0.71
4.1
3.8
22.1
Reserve
Cut-off (g/t Au)
Tonnes (Mt)
Gold Grade (g/t Au)
Silver Grade (g/t Ag)
Au (Moz)
Ag (Moz)
Probable
0.3
75.6
0.79
4.2
1.73
4.1
Mineral Hill JORC 2012 & JORC 2004 Mineral Resource & Ore Reserve summary table
Resource
Category
Measured
Tonnes
(kt)
228
Gold
Grade
(g/t)
2.11
Silver
Grade
(g/t)
11
Cu %
1.3%
Pb %
0.5%
Zn %
0.3%
Au (koz)
15
Ag (koz)
80
Cu (kt)
3
Pb (kt)
1.2
Zn (kt)
0.7
Indicated
4,893
1.08
28
1.2%
1.7%
1.1%
169
4,361
47
70
42
Inferred
3,098
1.17
23
0.7%
1.4%
1.2%
117
2,253
22
42
38
Total
8,220
1.14
27
1.0%
1.6%
1.1%
302
6,693
72
113
81
Reserve
Category
Proved
Tonnes
(kt)
-
Gold
Grade
(g/t)
0.00
Silver
Grade
(g/t)
0
Cu %
Pb %
Zn %
Au (koz)
-
Ag (koz)
0
Cu (kt)
Pb (kt)
Zn (kt)
Probable
697
1.95
57
44
470
Total
697
1.95
57
44
470
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Due to rounding to appropriate significant figures, minor discrepancies may occur, tonnages are dry metric tonnes.
Probable Ore Reserves are derived from Indicated Mineral Resources.
The Ore Reserves do not include, or depend upon, Inferred Mineral Resources.
The Ore Reserves form part of the Mineral Resources.
Total Mineral Resources account for mining depletion of the Tailings Project as at 23 April 2024
Competent Persons Statement and Disclaimer
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results and Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Mr.
Stuart Hayward BAppSc (Geology) MAIG, a Competent Person who is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mr.
Hayward is an employee of the Company. Mr. Hayward has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and
type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012
Edition of the “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves”. Mr. Hayward confirms
that the information in the market announcement provided is an accurate representation of the available data and studies for the
material mining project and consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based upon the information in the form and context
in which it appears.
The Competent Person signing off on the overall Misima Ore Reserves Estimate is Mr John Wyche BE (Min Hon), of Australian Mine
Design and Development Pty Ltd, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and who has sufficient
relevant experience in operations and consulting for open pit metalliferous mines. Mr Wyche consents to the inclusion in this report
of the information pertaining to the Misima Ore Reserve in the form and context in which it appears.
The Competent Person signing off on the overall Pearse Opencut Ore Reserves Estimate is Mr John Wyche BE (Min Hon), of
Australian Mine Design and Development Pty Ltd, who is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and who has
sufficient relevant experience in operations and consulting for open pit metalliferous mines. Mr Wyche consents to the inclusion in
this report of the information pertaining to the Pearse Opencut Ore Reserve in the form and context in which it appears.
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