Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves

 

Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves

Norton Gold Fields tenement area covers 1,056 km2 within the world-class Kalgoorlie gold province which includes the Paddington Operations.  Following on from 2013 acquisitions of the Bullant and Lady Bountiful projects, in 2014 Norton acquired Bullabulling Gold Limited and the Mt Jewell Project increasing its mineral resource inventory substantially.

Currently, the Paddington project includes Proven and Probable Ore Reserves of 17.3Mt @ 1.6g/t Au containing 0.89Moz of gold, with Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources of 267Mt at 1.28g/t Au containing 11Moz of gold Ore Reserve levels have been continually maintated around 1Moz since 2008, despite production and depletion of 1,126,000oz since the Norton acquisition of Paddington in 2007.

Paddington Resource Statement (including Ore Reserve) (30th November 2017)

Measured

Indicated

Inferred

Total Resource

Mt

g/t

Moz

Mt

g/t

Moz

Mt

g/t

Moz

Mt

g/t

Moz

2.68

2.60

0.22

146

1.2

5.64

118

1.35

5.12

267

1.28

11

 

Paddington Ore Reserve (30 June 2017)

Proven

Probable

Total Reserve

Mt

g/t

Moz

Mt

g/t

Moz

Mt

g/t

Moz

3.04

1.57

0.15

14.2

1.59

0.73

17.3

1.6

0.89

 

Mineral Resources

Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve status changes between the previous publicly released estimates (for 30th November and 30th June 2017 resepctively) and those reported herein are due to a combination of :

  • Mineral resource update and accompanying change or addition of ore reserve.
  • Re-definition of open-cut and underground reporting (i.e. reporting of open pit and underground component for each resource where applicable)
  • Ore Reserve modification due to changing gold price at all projects.
  • Depletion from mining.
  • Change in reporting area allocation (for example some parts of the Racetrack, mineral resource were previously reported under the ‘Mt Pleasant’ umbrella).
  • Resource depletion due to consideration of economic factors (i.e. inside US$1,000/oz otimised whittle shell for open pits and MSO for underground).

Geology of the Kalgoorlie region consists of Archaean greenschist facies mafic to ultramafic volcanics and intrusives with later intermediate to felsic volcanics, volcaniclastics and sediments.  Gold mineralisation occurs in a number of different settings which typically include the interaction of structural pathways with stratigraphically and rheologically reactive host rocks.  Ore bearing alteration assemblages typically comprise ankerite-sericite-albite-silica-biotite-pyrite-pyrrhotite.

Open cut ore mining is in progress at the Enterprise Deposit (Ora Banda Project) where the bulk of mill feed ore is being sourced, supplemented by the smaller Janet Ivy open cut mine, and by ore stockpiles from previously mined satellite open cut operations.  Underground mining is in progress at the Bullant Underground Mine (Carbine-Bullant Project).

The Paddington Operation has a strong pipeline of potential open cut and underground projects which are being targeted by staged resource development programs.  The project pipeline is capable of supporting a long-term Life of Mine (LoM) plan.


Competent Persons Statement

The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources is based on information compiled by Peter Ruzicka and Brad Daddow for Paddington, and Richard Sulway for Bullabulling.  The information in this report that relates to Mineral Reserves is compiled by Guy Simpson and Elizabeth Jones.  Exploration drilling results have been compiled by Peter Ruzicka.

Peter Ruzicka, Guy Simpson and Elizabeth Jones are all members of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and full-time employees of Norton Gold Fields Limited.  Brad Daddow is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and a full-time employee of BM Geological Services PL, a consulting group to Norton Gold Fields Limited.  Richard Sulway is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and a full-time employee of Snowden, a consulting group to Norton Gold Fields Limited.

Guy Simpson, Elizabeth Jones, Peter Ruzicka, Brad Daddow and Richard Sulway all have sufficient experience relevant to the styles of mineralisation and types of deposits which are covered in this report, and to the activity which they are undertaking to qualify as Competent Persons as defined in the 2012 edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Guy Simpson, Elizabeth Jones, Peter Ruzicka, Brad Daddow and Richard Sulway all consent to the inclusion in this report of matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.