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AUSTRALIAN GOLD REVIEW

Steady Hemi prepares for big year

by Dominic Piper

he headline-grabbing announcements of 2020 and 2021 The drilling only reinforced De Grey’s decision to select Brolga
Tmay have subsided for now but there is no doubt the for Hemi’s Stage 1 starter pit.
momentum on the ground is still strong for De Grey Mining Ltd. “We have stated for a while that Brolga would be the first pit off
De Grey shot to prominence in early 2020 with the discovery the rank, so we are drilling to confirm that,” Jardine said. “We
of its Hemi deposit on the wider Mallina project in the Pilbara, have also completed some pilot scale met work on Brolga which
Western Australia. By June 2021, the company was unfurling a we will release in the next few weeks.”
6.8 moz maiden resource and followed up with a scoping study As well as the infill work, the forest of rigs at Hemi are also
in October which pointed to 500,000 ozpa production over an providing geotechnical and metallurgical samples for work
initial 12 years. ahead.
Those numbers immediately sparked a PFS, and De Grey has “We need to get that work done now so we can complete the
spent the subsequent six months laying the groundwork for that studies in the second half of the year. Then, from the next
study. quarter, we can pivot back to more extensional and discovery
“We’re in the PFS phase and there is obviously a lot of study drilling,” Jardine said.
work associated with that, so not always exciting numbers,” De Metallurgy loomed as a potential hurdle early in Hemi’s life with
Grey managing director Glenn Jardine explained to GMJ. “We the refractory nature of the ore causing consternation among
are doing a lot of infill and resource definition work, aimed at some investors. De Grey has invested heavily in testing to
increasing the amount of indicated resources for the PFS and assuage any fears, Jardine saying the lab work had shown
production target and some resource extension work around there was little to be worried about.
the Duicon and Eagle deposits.
“The met drilling is really about continuing to get more samples,”
“We have been quite clear where the drilling targets are in terms he said. “The mineralogy is consistent across the deposits so
of increasing the indicated resource and the production targets. it is more about proving greater confidence in ourselves and
We had to focus on that in the last 6-9 months to set ourselves showing the market that we have done all the technical work
up to do all the work on various studies after that.” required for this size of project.
It may not be exciting but recent drilling continues to deliver for “We are getting consistent recoveries in the mid-90% range.
De Grey. In the PFS it is more about doing the trade-off studies on the
In March, results from resource definition drilling at the Brolga communition and oxidation processes we use. That is important
zone returned hits of 193m @ 1.7 g/t, 123m @ 1.9 g/t, 140.2m for investors, and we are hopeful of advancing which oxidation
@ 1.3 g/t and 136m @ 1.2 g/t, demonstrating the continuity of process we will use ahead of the PFS, providing the market
mineralisation across the 1.3 moz @ 1.3 g/t orebody defined in more certainty.”
the scoping study. Other than great mine life and production profile, the company

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