This month, multi-commodity mining and exploration company Alkane Resources (ASX: ALK), is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a listed company. Alkane initially listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1969 when its focus was on hydrocarbons (“alkane”) in the Sydney Basin. Alkane switched to gold exploration in the central west region in the late 1970s and has a long history of gold exploration and mining in the central west region of NSW.
From operating the historic gold mine at Peak Hill, between 1996 and 2002 to finding a deposit of 2.96 million ounces of gold at McPhillamys, Alkane has a rich history of gold exploration in the region. It now operates the Tomingley Gold Mine, which produced 60,000 to 80,000 ounces of gold per year between 2014 and 2018 from four open-cut pits, generating substantial cash flow. It is now developing underground, which is expected to extend the mine life by at least three years, and produce over 90,000 ounces of gold.
An active exploration program continues to the south of the mine, towards Peak Hill. The recently announced high grade gold intercepts are the most significant exploration results in the Tomingley region since the initial discoveries by Alkane over 10 years ago. Alkane’s gold strategy encompasses wider local exploration as well as investment in other junior gold miners.
Alkane is also developing the $1.3 billion Dubbo Zirconia and Rare Earths Project, at Toongi, near Dubbo. Representing a potential strategic supply of many critical minerals, the Dubbo Project has a potential mine life of 70+ years and is the most advanced poly-metallic project of its kind outside China.
Over the past 50 years, Alkane has maintained rigorous social and environmental standards for its mining and processing with activities carefully designed with wildlife safety, site rehabilitation and low environmental impact in mind.
With this milestone approaching, we thought you might be interested in speaking to Alkane’s managing director, Nic Earner as well as former managing director and current technical director, Ian Chalmers, who started at Alkane over 30 years ago as a geologist.
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