Australian mining firm has struck a gold deposit in Otago

An Australian mining firm has struck a gold deposit inland from Dunedin that it believes could be worth billions of dollars. New Age Exploration said the discovery near Lake Mahinerangi was years away from progressing into a mine proposal, but if that were to happen, the company would likely look to the fast-track process to build an underground mine.

The company announced its early-stage findings to the Australian Securities Exchange this week. Chief executive Kirby Johnson said shear-hosted gold mineralisation was identified during drilling at the company’s Bella prospect, within the wider Lammerlaw Gold-Antimony Project, where it holds an exploration permit. The company was “only a few drill holes in”, he said. Initial indications were that the deposit could extend more than five kilometres laterally. “If you find a million ounces of gold at US$4000 an ounce, these days gold has become incredibly valuable,” he said. Then that can easily translate into $4 billion, and so that’s definitely our target.”

Nearby, in Central Otago’s Dunstan Range, Santana Minerals’ application to construct an open-cut gold mine has attracted criticism from opponents, who argue it is too complex and risky for the Fast-track process.

Johnson said the company’s strong preference would be for an underground mine. “We think that, fundamentally, that’s a better way to go, rather than open-cut. An underground mine has a much smaller footprint on the surface and is probably more suited to this environment.” Johnson said New Age Exploration viewed the fast-track process as a way to sort through issues quickly, rather than bypass or sidestep them.