The Kanmantoo project is located in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia with potential for copper-gold and silver-lead-zinc mineralisation.
We are mindful that we are operating in and around local landowners and communities and it is our greatest wish to see all benefit from our presence.
Mining in the Kanmantoo district made a significant contribution to the development and prosperity of the state of South Australia since the 1840's. The first mining at Kanmantoo began in 1846 and continued to 1874 when a collapse in world copper prices forced the mine to close. Intermittent prospecting continued in the area until the late 1960s when exploration by Kanmantoo Mines Limited (KML), a joint venture between Broken Hill North Ltd, Broken Hill South Ltd and EZ Industries Ltd, led to the discovery of the main deposit at Kanmantoo and commencement of open pit mining in 1970.
Open pit mining at Kanmantoo was carried out by KML Ltd from 1970-1976. During that time, approximately 20 million tonnes of waste and 4.05 million tonnes at 0.9% Cu was mined producing 39,000 tonnes of copper metal. Underground mining was also planned at the deposit and a decline from the side of the pit had been completed which provided access for production drilling. However, no modern underground production has been reported from the deposit to date.
The mine operated for the six years before low copper prices, industrial disputation and a high costs regime, which then prevailed in Australia, forced the operation to close. Remnant mining infrastructure includes an open pit (approximately 120 metres deep), former processing plant buildings (currently used as a fertiliser manufacturing facility by neighbours), a partially revegetated waste rock dump and a tailings storage facility.
In April 2004 Hillgrove exercised the option to acquire Mining Lease 5776 (excluding oxide ore stockpiles and tailings) which covered the former Kanmantoo Mine workings.
In November 2003 Hillgrove acquired a 40% interest in EL 2663 and the right to earn a further 50% by funding exploration activities on the tenement before May 2004. The final 10% interest was acquired from Kelaray Pty. Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Argonaut Resources N. L., in March 2008. This exploration license covers an area of 496 square kilometres along strike to the north and south of the Kanmantoo Mine and has since been reissued by the department of Primary Industries and Resources SA (PIRSA) as EL3277 and is currently listed as EL4401.
Field exploration activities commenced immediately with first drilling in February 2004. In December 2004 Hillgrove announced an Indicated and Inferred Resource of 18.37 million tonnes at 1.1% Cu and 0.2g/t Au calculated by Resource Evaluations Pty. Ltd. for the Kanmantoo Project. This resource estimate more than doubled the previous estimate of 8.45 million tonnes. The resource has steadily increased since then.
The total resource now stands at 32.2 million tonnes (2.3MT Measured, 22.5MT Indicated and 7.4MT Inferred) at 0.9% copper and 0.2g/t gold, for total contained metal of 292,200 tonnes of copper and 191,100 ounces of gold.
A Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) was finalised in June 2006 by Roche Mining (JR) Pty Ltd, which identified a potential open pit containing 12.2 million tonnes of ore. A subsequent Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) was undertaken by Lycopodium Pty Ltd and completed in November 2007. The mining feasibility studies for the DFS were completed by Snowden, and a detailed geotechnical study was completed by Coffey Mining Pty Ltd. With the DFS successfully completed the Board gave the 'green light' to continue seeking government licensing and arrange project finance.