First gold has been poured at the Bellevue gold project in WA, with a gold bar weighing 8.3kg poured in the first smelt on October 25.
Both the start of production and cashflow have been achieved on time and on budget, with the crushing circuit operating at 250 tonnes (t) per hour during the six days of start-up operations.
“The start of production is the culmination of an incredible journey which started with an exploration project,” Bellevue managing director Darren Stralow said.
“To achieve this on time and on budget is a huge feat, particularly given the skills shortage and economic climate of recent times.
“This is a major credit to our construction and operations teams who alongside our key contractors, have worked tirelessly to deliver this project.”
The project has now entered the commissioning phase and plant throughput is expected to ramp up to consistent production.
The project has achieved a throughput of 125 tonnes per hour of underground ore and an additional 85,000t of open pit material is available for processing.
Bellevue has had a strong year at the project, with the company describing the Deacon area as “a significant contributor to the overall project life of mine”.
“Deacon is one of four early-stage mining areas within the project, giving us maximum flexibility and diversification,” Stralow said.
“The high grades and strong continuity add to the de-risking process as we prepare for first production in the coming quarter.”
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