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COVER

Project manager Warren King talks Red 5 chairman Kevin
Dundo and managing director Mark Williams through the
progress of construction at King of the Hills in January

holes close to the contact with the granodiorite intrusion.
“When we worked through the whole-of-hole analysis, we
found 200-300m @ 1.5-2 g/t gold,” Williams says. “We
turned the rig around and got the same result. That was the
lightbulb moment when we realised it could be a bulk mining
scenario.”
Geological modelling estimated the granodiorite extended
across an area of 4km long by 1.8km wide and 500m deep.
By May 2019, the resource had been increased to 3.1 moz
gold and the company was contemplating a restart of open
pit operations.
“The last time it was mined as a bulk operation was by Sons
of Gwalia in 2004,” Williams says. “They had similar size
mining equipment and our approach will be similar, but we
have some distinct advantages. We don’t have their hedge
book [the notorious financial instrument which led to the
company’s downfall], we have a state-of-the-art plant, a
strong gold environment and the opportunity to access the
high-grade underground mine as a sweetener.”
The combination of new geological understanding and
extensive historical knowledge drove Red 5 quickly towards
feasibility work and ultimately the early project equity raising.
For Williams, project fundamentals reinforced the Red 5
investment proposition.
“We are close to Leonora and all the advantages that brings,
we have a 16-year mine life and a 2.4 moz gold reserve
Williams and Dundo on site at King of the Hills

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