[miningmx.com] — THE “double void’ problem at Central Rand Gold (CRG) is not as bad as previously thought, but the mine’s future still hangs in the balance until the end of October.
That’s when management will complete a strategic review re-assessing CRG’s prospects, taking into account the outcome of trial conventional mining as well as the negotiations with the department of water affairs over what is to be done about the flooding situation in the Central Basin.
The “double void’ problem refers to the discovery made during CRG’s initial underground operations that, in certain areas, the Main Reef had been mined out in addition to the expected previous mining operations on the Main Reef Leader.
That forced a revision on the amount of ore still available to be mined. Management’s assumption was that some 10% of the ore it estimated it could mine may be missing.
Results from the initial mining operations showed that around 30% of the ore was missing because of the “double void’ effect.
On Thursday, CRG said in a statement that an internal study had now shown that the incidence of these double voids “appears to be limited to very specific areas and conditions and that the general prediction of their occurrence is possible.’
“It appears that the development of these composite double voids is limited to areas where the entire Main Reef, Middling and Main Reef Leader package is particularly high grade and, in addition, has a particularly thinly developed Middling,’ said the company.
CRG said it could now isolate areas with the greatest potential for the double voids.
“It is estimated the impacted area for zero to 450m below surface represents less than 5% of the total resource base for such depth range within the Consolidated Main Reef leasehold.
“Furthermore, only an estimated 38% of the impacted 5% is believed to represent areas of composite double voids.
“As the total combined impact of the composite double voids as determined by this internal study is less than 3% of the area affected, it is not deemed necessary to adjust the Main Reef mineral resource base.”
CRG shares did not trade on the JSE on Thursday following release of this latest statement.
The shares have plunged this year from a high of 67c to the current 12-month low of 9c which compares with an all-time high of R20 in 2007.
