Highlights:
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Excellent progress towards mining and Toll Milling readiness at Hualilan.
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Final open pit mine design and mining schedules for Toll Milling pits completed.
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10% increase in grade with the Schedule now entirely based on Indicated Resources.
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Initial 150,000t of material mined averages 8.7 g/t Au and 34.5 g/t Ag.
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Schedule delivers over 90,000t of toll milling material in first 3 months of mining.
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Enhanced operational flexibility as only 3 out of 4 potential pits are required.
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Mining schedule completion enables finalisation of contract mining and toll material haulage contracts.
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Toll Mill plant refurbishment commenced with equipment repairs in progress following the receipt of required funds from a local bank in Argentina in late December 2024.
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Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for Toll Milling on schedule for completion in March 2025.
Sydney, Australia – 11 February 2025 – Challenger Gold Limited (ASX:CEL) (“Challenger” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce significant progress towards mining and toll milling at its flagship Hualilan Project, located approximately 120km north-northwest of San Juan, Argentina. The Company has secured multiple mining contracts and entered a toll milling agreement to expedite production and cash flow generation.
Challenger has executed mining contracts for the extraction of high-grade gold ore at Hualilan, a project renowned for its robust mineralisation. These agreements mark a pivotal step towards transitioning from exploration to production. Additionally, the Company has secured a toll milling agreement with a regional processing facility, providing a cost-effective pathway to process the extracted ore.
Recent drilling results continue to reinforce the project’s exceptional potential, with high-grade gold intersections confirming extensive mineralisation across multiple zones. The results underscore the strong economics of the Hualilan Project as Challenger advances towards production.
Kris Knauer, the Managing Director of Challenger Gold commented: "We are making excellent progress towards being mining and Toll Milling ready with all key workstreams on schedule.
The completion of Toll Milling pit design and mining schedules is a significant milestone as it allows us to finalise quotes for contract mining and trucking of material to Casposo.
The final mining schedule for tolling itself represents a significant improvement over our initial case. It shows a 10% improvement in grade; delivers 6-months toll milling feed in the first 3- months of mining; front loads cashflows with grades of 8.7 g/t Au and 34.5/t Ag during the first year of tolling and provides significant flexibility and optionality with only 3 of the 4 pits required and an additional 120,000 of toll milling material available in the toll milling pits. Finally, Austral Gold, the Toll Mill operator, has indicated that refurbishment of the Casposo Plant is progressing”
Challenger Gold remains focused on unlocking the full value of Hualilan by advancing its development strategy, maximising efficiency through toll milling, and rapidly progressing towards production. Further updates will be provided as the Company advances key milestones.
ENDS
About us:
Challenger Gold Limited (ASX: CEL) is a gold and copper exploration company.
Challenger Gold Limited’s aspiration is to become a globally significant gold producer.
The Company is developing two complementary gold/copper projects in South America with a 2.8 million ounce resource estimate recently announced for the Hualilan Gold Project in San Juan, Argentina. In the 100% owned portion of its El Guayabo project in Ecuador the Company has announced a maiden 4.5 million ounce resource estimate.
The Company strategy is for the 100% owned Hualilan Gold Project to provide a high-grade low capex operation in the near term while it prepares for much larger bulk gold operations at both Hualilan and El Guaybo in Ecuador.
Contact details:
For further information, please contact:
Jane Morgan
Investor and Media Relations Manager
jm@janemorganmanagement.com.au
