Abra Construction At 92% Complete – Reaches First Ore Underground

Managing Director, Tony James commented, “Reaching first ore underground is extremely rewarding for everyone involved in the project. To see for the first time what we have predicted and interpreted as the Abra orebody delivers a significant step forward for the project. Record development metres in October has taken the mine to the ore and we continue to establish key underground infrastructure with the completion of the 6m diameter surface rise that will be the primary return airway.”

Update on Abra Project progress

Overall progress continues to remain in line for Project completion, with first commercial production expected in Q1 CY2023. The processing plant engineering, procurement and construction has reached 97% complete. Structural steel has been completed in October and mechanical installations are at 96% complete. Piping at 80% and electrical at 71% complete continue to progress quickly.

Pacific Energy’s Hybrid 10MW LNG/solar power station completed full integration with the solar power supply, dry commissioning of the crushing and screening areas was completed in early November and first rock crushing is scheduled for late November. Grinding section dry and wet commissioning will commence in the second half of November and is planned for completion by mid-December. The remaining commissioning schedule is unchanged from the last update and is shown below in Table 1.

Mine decline development continued during October. A total of 311m was developed with the decline reaching 1,284mRL. October represents the highest individual development month since the first cut was fired in the portal in October 2021. The decline location is 266m vertically below the surface and is 29m vertically below the original top of the orebody (1313mRL). Underground drilling has now identified mineralisation as high as 1330mRL which is currently being reviewed for potential extraction. The 1300mRL ore access drive reached first ore in early November (See ASX announcement 14 November 2022).

The 1290mRL horizon is a significant work area for development as underground infrastructure for pumping, ventilation, second means of egress and power are all distributed from this level outwards into the development network. All this infrastructure is currently being established and will result in an increased focus on lateral development and lower decline development in the short term.

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