King of the Hills Gold Mine and Processing Hub
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Red 5’s 100%-owned King of the Hills Gold Mine is located 28km north of the town of Leonora and 80km south of the Company’s Darlot Satellite Gold Mine in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.
Red 5 has established the new King of the Hills Processing Hub in 2022, with a large new 5.5Mtpa process plant being fed by open pit and underground mines at King of the Hills, and an underground satellite mine at Darlot.
In June 2022, Red 5 completed the successful construction of the King of the Hills process plant on schedule and within the A$226 million budget. The plant was constructed by EPC contractor MACA Interquip. First gold was produced on 5 June 2022 and is ramping up to full production in the September Quarter 2022.
The King of the Hills Gold Mine consists of a 4.75Moz Mineral Resource and 2.46Moz Ore Reserve, making it one of the Top 10 largest mines in Australia by Ore Reserve. The open pit has a forecast 16-year life of mine, and the underground mine has an initial five-year life of mine - which is expected to continue with further exploration. Steady-state production is expected to be approximately 200koz p.a.
Mining is being undertaken by Red 5's mining business partner Macmahon Contractors in both the open pit and underground mines. The underground mine fleet comprises two jumbos, two boggers and a supporting fleet and includes the use of tele-remote technology. The open pit fleet consists of one 360t excavator, two 260t excavators, sixteen trucks and a supporting fleet.
Red 5's employees and contractors stay at the new modern King of the Hills 380-bed camp. Workers come to the site via a 1-hour flight from Perth to Leonora, followed by a short 20-minute bus ride to King of the Hills.
Red 5 has commenced studies to evaluate the optimal future size of the process plant. The King of the Hills process plant has the lowest processing cost in the Leonora region and is in a highly strategic location on the Goldfields Highway to accept ore from high-grade satellite mining.
For further details on the King of the Hills Underground, refer to the Company’s recent ASX announcements and investor presentations.
