Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is Regal's most advanced project, located around a former gold mining centre 65 kilometres south southeast of Leonora. The company holds a 100 per cent interest in gold deposits at the Zelica open pit containing more than 83,800 ounces of gold in various JORC compliant categories. It has also acquired 60 per cent, with the right to earn 90 per cent interest, in adjoining tenements containing about 86,000 ounces of gold in various JORC compliant categories. These and other exploration targets will be tested with the aim of increasing the company's gold resources.
Gold mineralisation in the Zelica deposit has been proved over a strike length of 1km and to a depth of 90 metres. Detailed drilling of the southern 400 metre section of the deposit to a depth of 50 metres has outlined 190,000 tonnes of gold ore with a grade of 2.29 g/t. The deposit is open at depth and also along strike. Overburden has been removed to a depth of 10 metres and the ore zone was exposed over a strike length of 400 metres. During overburden removal, 35,000 tonnes of low grade ore (@1.35 g/t Au) was stockpiled.
Metallurgical tests of ore from the Zelica deposit indicate that gold recoveries in excess of 92-95% can be achieved by vat leaching ore which has been crushed to <12mm and agglomerated with cement. Gold recoveries of 44% can be achieved by vat leaching low grade ore, normally regarded as waste, without secondary processing. Leach vats with a capacity of 80,000 cubic metres and water production bores have been completed at the Zelica Mine site.
Eucalyptus geology comprises ultramafic and mafic flow and intrusive rocks, with inter-flow black shales. The major structural feature of the area is an asymmetrical syncline, the Eucalyptus Syncline, which has been extensively faulted on the eastern margin by regional faulting with a general north-south orientation, associated with the western edge of the Laverton Tectonic Zone. Quartz veining and gold mineralisation occurs within sheared mafic rocks and along contacts with felsic lithologies and meta-sediments.
