The decline advance rate at Ora Banda Mining’s Riverina Underground development is progressing in line with forecast after the underground portal was established last month. The total advance is at 225.7m as of June 25 2023, with the main decline at 194.3m and a further 31.4m in other development according to the company today.
In other areas of Ora Banda’s operations updated to the market today, Crushing circuit downtime will affect Q4 guidance by around 14%. The previous stated guidance of 14,000oz is now more aligned to around 12,000oz. The repairs and maintenance are ongoing with an expected operational date for the crushing circuit of July 1 2023.
All was not lost though for Ora Banda with an increase of over 40% for Q4 oz produced compared to the average of the previous three quarters via open pit mining. Managing Director Luke Creagh was disappointed with the downtime, but seemed optimistic overall. “Whilst the crushing circuit downtime is disappointing, it is a short-term impact that is not expected to have any long-term implications to the business. We expect the current circuit to be fully operational by 1 July 2023, and the previously announced crusher upgrades in FY24 will ensure the crushing circuit is no longer a bottleneck to performance.” he said.
Development is commenced with Byrnecut Australia in May 2023, with the portal established mid May 2023.
Industry Link Media covered the maiden resource announcement by Ora Banda Mining here: Recap of Maiden underground resource announced by Ora Banda here