Highlights

• Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) is progressing well at Red Hill Gold Project, as per the latest company release.
• The company believes Red Hill to be a “stepping stone” to further resource development within the Hill End Goldfield.
• Resource, pit and mining schedule optimisation is in progress.
• Overall, the Hill End Gravity Gold Plant is about to get completed for commissioning with historic stockpile feed.
• A significant target for future drilling has been defined at Red Hill following the new interpretation of mineralisation.

ASX-listed gold exploration company Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) today shared an update relating the progress in development activities on Red Hill Gold Project. While considering it as a viable stand-alone project, the company termed Red Hill to be a “stepping stone” to further resource development within the Hill End Goldfield.

As per the latest announcement, the resource, pit and mining schedule optimisation are in progress and demonstrate recent drilling and high gold price.

Also, Mining Licence Application studies are being undertaken with stakeholder engagement including landowner (the Crown), Bathurst Regional Council, and community. The Mining Licence Application also includes Total Water Management (incl. >10yrs bore monitoring), dust monitoring/benchmarking and additional studies earmarked for completion.

Source: © 2023 Krish Capital Pty. Ltd.

An insight into VTX’ project plan

Under the initial phase of two shallow open pits, the ore will be hauled from Red Hill to the Hawkins Hill gravity processing plant and infrastructure base at Hill End.

As per the metallurgical test work performed earlier on oxide, transition and primary material from Red Hill, simple gravity processing can lead to a high recovery of gold at a coarse grind with no cyanide. The company reports that it is comparable to the Hill End and Hargraves deposits’ processing performance, which just need gravity processing for around 90% gold recovery.

Therefore, it can be concluded that the power requirements, processing plant, and infrastructure will cause less expense as well as low impact on ecosystem. The gravity processing plant at Hill End is amenable to extend to fulfil the Red Hill feed.

Red Hill future targets, note the ‘visible gold’ intersections shown occur outside the initial resource area

Further drilling campaigns identified new en echelon vein sets at depth and wide mineralised quartz ‘bedded’ stockwork zones have been intersected in the White’s, Red Hill and Marshall McMahon areas. Vertex Minerals believes that there is potential of expanding the resource at multiple sites next to the resource at depth and along strike. It is likely that there are more shallow resource extensions in the Red Hill region, as at the Western Line of mineralisation.

VTX shares were trading at AU$0.092 midday on 12 April 2023, up