On Sunday morning around 130 people attended a community meeting at the Majors Creek Recreation Ground Hall to hear from the new CEO of the ‘Dargues Gold Mine’, prior to the start of construction on Monday.
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Following the merger between the original developer Cortona Resources and Unity Mining, the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer is Melbourne based Andrew McIlwain, a qualified mining engineer with over 25 years experience in the mining industry. The Managing Director of Cortona, Mr Peter van der Borgh is now the executive Director of Unity.
The meeting lasted around 2 hours with Mr McIlwain explaining the new arrangements, and answering questions from the floor. Questions included issues of noise and vibration, water testing, frequency of monitoring, the length of the project, road traffic and infrastructure.
To start the development there will be surface blasting between 9 and 3 Monday to Friday to establish the box cut for about 3 months. When work moves underground blasting will be 24 hours when needed however Mr McIlwain said usually it is only at the start and finish of shifts and it would be “highly unlikely” that it would be heard.
When producing it is estimated to generate around 1000 truck movements per annum. The company hopes to commence the $560,000 upgrade to the Majors Creek Road as soon as possible.
Unity Mining Limited (ASX:UML) is an Australian gold explorer, developer and producer which owns and operates the Henty Gold Mine in north west Tasmania, which “like Dargues Reef, is located in a sensitive environment.” Unity is also involved in gold exploration in West Africa through its investment in GoldStone Resources Limited.
The Company’s key asset is the Homase/Akrokerri project in the Ashanti Gold Belt in Ghana, which has a 405,600 oz gold resources, estimated in accordance with the JORC Code. Other GoldStone assets include the Manso Amenfi licence in Ghana, the Sangola licence in Senegal and two permit areas in Gabon.
Unity holds tenure over the Bendigo Goldfield in Victoria where it is engaged in realising the value of its Kangaroo Flat gold plant and Bendigo exploration tenements. The Henty Gold Mine has produced about 1.3 million ounces of gold over a 16 year period. Unity Mining acquired Henty in July 2009. Recent exploration success has significantly extended the mine life, and continued exploration on the significant near mine tenement package remains a key focus.
“Cashflow, a robust balance sheet and significant cash position provide Unity with a strong platform for future growth opportunities.”
Unity says “Be assured the same familiar faces will still be around town because this merger won’t change the operating staff of the mine.”
Mr Van der Borgh said after the merger “Cortona would particularly like to thank the community for their patience and support throughout the extensive approvals process. None of the commitments made will change with this new relationship and, as shown by Unity in previous projects, their commitment to environmental sustainability is as strong as Cortona’s.”
The Dargues Gold Mine is expected to create approximately 80 long term jobs.
An info line is available on info@darguesreef.com.au or call 0415 682 917.