tanami technicals, page-10

Thanks chick, your opinion is appreciated. Not top heavy in TAM with less than 5% of my portfolio but don't want to lose any hard earned either.

Here's some more info via a news piece for Groundrush.

Cheers

Gold mine given new lease of life

February 15th, 2010

A TERRITORY gold mine is to reopen after being bought by a West Australian company.

Tanami Gold paid Newmont $22 million for the Groundrush project. Managing director Graeme Sloan said the desert mine could employ up to 100 workers.

Tanami Gold already operates the highly successful Coyote mine, 30 kilometres inside the WA border, which produces 50,000 ounces a year.

Mr Sloan said the company would increase production from both mines to 200,000 ounces a year.

Ground rush has:

A JORC compliant resource of 500,000 ounces;

A TREATMENT plant that can handle 1.2 million tonnes of ore per year;

A "WORLD CLASS" 2000 square kilometre exploration package;

AN airfield; and

A workers' camp with 140 beds.

The treatment plant is out of use and will need to be refurbished. Groundrush has 43 open pits, ranging in depth from 40 metres to 120 metres.

The main pit was mined from 2001 to 2005 and produced more than 600,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 4.3 grams per tonne.

Another pit, known as Hurricane- Repulse, produced more than 250,000 ounces.

About 2.1 million ounces of gold were mined at Goldrush from 1987 to 2005.

The project lies only 130 kilometres west of the 10 million ounce endowment of the Callie- Granites production centre.

Mr Sloan said the Tanami was one of the most productive gold mining areas in Australia.

Newmont, the world's biggest gold miner, did not carry out any drilling or remodelling at Groundrush since a resource estimate was made in late 2001.

Tanami Gold believes there is "excellent potential" to increase the surface and underground resources at the mine site and surrounding exploration leases.

It said significant mineralisation existed beneath Hurrican-Repulse � and that would be remodelled and included in a new resource estimate.

Drilling will be carried at several other likely spots.

Mr Sloan said the present resource estimate was "extremely conservative", especially considering the lack of deeper drilling below the pits.

"The vast, sparsely explored areas of the associated exploration licences, with their prospective rock packages and favourable structural features, affords a further opportunity for the company to discover new gold deposits," he said.

Mr Sloan said the open pits would be reopened as soon as possible and plans for underground mining drawn up.

Tanami Gold has also bought exploration packages in the Territory's Barrow Creek and Lander River regions for $10.775 million.

The company's double-headed move is another boost to the NT gold mining industry.

Crocodile Gold has restarted mining at Pine Creek and several explorers are drilling near Tennant Creek.

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/02/15/123655_nt-business.html