GOLD
HILL END PROJECT (NSW)
- The deportment of gold at the Hill End Project allows high recovery of gold to a concentrate using gravity separation that does not require chemical solvents.
- Vertex owns a permitted processing plant at Hill End located on granted Mining Licenses.
- The use of directly smelting gold concentrates eliminates the need to use cyanide.
SUSTAINABILITY
The vision of Vertex Minerals is the commercial production of gold from the Hill End Project. Vertex aims to achieve this with an ennvironmenal footprint that will make it an industry leader.
Geology
The gold at Hill End and Hargraves is associated with quartz veins. It is often visible in core samples and is considered a coarse size. Typically it is greater than 0.1mm in size. The goldfield has a reputation for producing large gold nuggets. The ore at Hill End has been processed previously using gravity techniques to achieve high recoveries of gold.Processing Technologies
The coarse nature of the gold means that high recovery can be achieved using gravity separation. These techniques take advantage of the contrast in density between gold (ρ=19.3) and quartz (ρ=2.6) to achieve separation.Gravity separation allows more than 90% of the gold to be concentrated into a very small proprtion of the total ore mass. This concentrate can then be directly smelted to produce high purity gold bar. These methods means that gold can be produced without the use of cyanide.
Energy Consumption and Sources
The coarse liberation size means that less energy is required to crush and grind Hill End ore compared to most gold mining operations. This is significant in the overall power consumption for the project. The companyplans to investigate the use of renewable energy sources to further offset the impacts of the mine.Waste Management
Gold is liberated from quartz at relatively coase grind sizes, with recoveries of greater than 90% achievable at a grind size of 100 micron (this is quite coarse and is best described as sand). This means that processing residue is a sand and it does not contain any chemical residue. It is suitable for commercial use in concrete and other building products. The company is presently investigating markets for this material, which is likely to be significant in the reduction of environmental impacts..
Location
Unit 38, 460 Stirling Highway, Peppermint Grove WA 6011.
CONTACT DETAILS
TELEPHONE: +61 8 6383 7828
EMAIL: info@vertexminerals.com.au
Board & Management
Vertex Minerals Ltd
Mr Roger Jackson has been actively involved in the mining industry for 30+ years as a mine operator, services contractor and explorer. He is a geologist with strong knowledge of gold exploration and mining. He has developed several mining and ore processing operations in Australia and abroad.
Roger has a Science degree with a major in Geology and Geophysics, and holds a Diploma in Financial Management, Diploma in Education. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London, Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgists.
Executive Chairperson – Roger Jackson
Mr Declan Franzman is a mining engineer with over 30 years of experience from discovery, through construction, operations and mine closure. His expertise covers open pit and underground gold mining across Australia, Asia, Africa and South America.
Declan is a Fellow of the AusIMM, holds statutory mine management qualifications for WA, QLD and NSW and has been a director of public companies for 15 years.
Non-executive Director - Declan Franzmann
Mr Tully Richards is an experienced gold geologist based in Orange, NSW. Tully has a wonderful depth and breadth of experience in exploration in the Lachlan Fold district.
A graduate in geology from Sydney University, Tully has worked as a geologist in operating mines but has found his passion exploring the Lachlan Fold Belt for gold.
Technical director - Tully Richards
Mr Alex Neuling is a chartered accountant and chartered company secretary with over 15 years corporate and financial experience, including 10 years as company secretary, CFO &/or a Director of various ASX listed companies in the Oil & Gas, Mineral Exploration, Biotech & Mining Services sectors.
Prior to these roles, Alex worked at Deloitte in London and in Perth.
Company Secretary - Alex Neuling
