RSS UpdatesCompany Information for ATW Gold Corp.
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 TSX.V; ATW
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Company Statement
ATW Gold Corp. is a gold producer and explorer, with gold mines in Western Australia, utilizing North American capital structure on the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATW – TSX.V).
The Company continues to grow its production, as it looks to graduate to mid-tier producer status.
Production will be increased through a combination of exploration and development of the Burnakura and Gullewa gold mines, plus ongoing acquisition and merger activity.
ATW currently hold's a 100% interest in the Burnakura Gold Mine and a 100% interest in the Gullewa Gold Mine.
Combined production from Burnakura and Gullewa is expected to be in excess of 130,000 oz per annum.
The Burnakura Gold mine commenced production on March 3, 2009. The initial production rate is 35,000oz per annum, with a target of 50,000oz per annum in the following year. The current JORC gold resource is 400,000oz of which 120,000oz is contained in the NOA 2 underground mining plan that remains open along strike and at depth. Exploration is planned from surface and underground to expand current mine life.
The Gullewa Gold mine (currently on care and maintenance) hosts a 880 tonne per day CIL plant, camp and rolling stock. The current NI 43-101 resource stands at 850,000oz, of which the Deflector deposit contains 770,000oz gold equivalent.
A scoping study on Deflector was initiated during April and will be completed by year end. To date, a mine plan has been completed by independent Perth Mining consultants, Mining Plus and an Engineering estimation has been completed on the capex of the processing plant upgrade.
A 10,000 meter diamond core drilling program (2 rigs, double shift) commenced at Deflector during May (drill-plan click here). Drilling is targeting the southerly and northerly extension zones defined by gravity and IP surveys last year.
Management’s focus is to aggressively develop ATW’s gold projects and pursue additional acquisitions to enhance shareholder value.
Corporate goals are:
- Build a team of highly respected mining and financing professionals who share a common goal of building a mid tier gold mining company by leveraging on ATW’s North American model in Australia;
- Implementation of best practices for safety and environment;
- Having social conscience that provides a framework for decision making;
- Expanding our current resource base and current production levels;
- Acquiring quality projects that are accretive in scope,
Current Operations
Burnakura Gold Mine
Located in the West Yilgarn goldfields of Western Australia, the Burnakura Gold Mine consists of 58.8 square km of mining leases and prospecting licenses, a fully permitted 160,000 tonne per annum (440 tpd) CIL gold plant, rolling stock, underground equipment, workshops, office space and a 90 man camp. The project covers 12km of prospective strike length along a major auriferous shear zone and mesothermal gold system. Historic production on the project focused on lower grade surface oxides, which had been historically mined from 15 open pits stretching along the entire 12 km of strike length.
Drill results to date have shown significant potential exists to expand high grade underground resources on the property. Management is currently focused on production at Burnakura, scheduled to begin March 1, 2009.
Development Status
- 100% owned by ATW; Acquired for AUD$4M, 5M common shares and 5M $0.79 warrants;
- Current 400,000 oz Au JORC resource;
- Fully permitted 160,000 tonne per annum (440 tpd) Carbon In Leach (CIL) gold plant, rolling stock, underground equipment, workshops, office space and 90 man camp;
- Project comprises of 15 historical open cut oxide pits, along a 12km
mesothermal sheer zone. - Current underground development includes a 1:6 decline down to Level 5 (80 vertical meters from base of NOA2). Current status; fully dewatered, with power and lighting, ventilation and communications.
- Burnakura is on target to commence gold production at 35,000 oz
per annum. (March 2009)
Development Plan
- Ongoing drilling to focus on increasing the NOA2 resource inventory
- Crushing circuit rebuild completed, plant refurbishment underway, gold recovery room under construction;
- Tendering of underground mining contracts – in progress;
- Commence mining & stockpiling ore from NOA2 decline;
- Initiate CIL plant production and gold recovery facilities.
Gullewa Gold Mine
The Gullewa Project is located 450 km north of Perth, 160 km east of Geraldton and 300km south west of ATW’s 100% owned Burnakura Gold Mine in the Yilgarn goldfields of Western Australia.
The Gullewa Project includes a total of 756 km2 of mineral tenements that cover the prospective central and southern portions of the Gullewa Greenstone Belt and include the Gullewa Mining Centre, the Deflector Deposit, the Prince George Mine, the Michaelangelo and Monarch Prospects.
Mining infrastructure assets of the Gullewa Project include a turn-key gold operation with a Carbon-In-Leach plant capable of up to 300,000 tpa (tonne per annum) gold production, a licensed tailings disposal facility, a 50-person camp, offices, workshops, bore fields and haulage roads. The site is currently on care and maintenance.
2009 Drill Program
A 10,000 metre drill program commenced in the first week of May, using two rigs, operating 24 hours per day. Results from the gravity survey completed at Gullewa last fall identified potential length extensions north and south of the current Deflector resource. The gravity survey data were interpreted and analyzed in conjunction with historic magnetic and induced polarization (IP) survey data, as well as drill and geological data with 3-D modelling software. Interpretation of the 3-D model shows that previous drilling to the south did not penetrate deep enough to test for potential mineralization. To the north, the 3-D model suggests a fault offset and a possible northern extension of 1,800 metres that has yet to be drilled. ATW's resource geologist believes the results of the gravity survey demonstrate excellent opportunity to increase the size of the current resource.
Drill Targets
Target 1 -- Deflector (south of known mineralization; 900 metres of untested strike length)
The IP survey completed over Deflector in 2006 displays an anomaly which indicates that there is approximately 900 metres of untested strike length to the south and downplunge of the known mineralization. Geophysical data from last year's gravity survey identify a gravity high that is coincident with the IP survey anomaly. These areas have not been adequately drill tested, as previous drill holes were not drilled deep enough to test the deposit's southerly plunge.
Target 2 -- Deflector (north of known mineralization; 1,800 metres of untested strike length)
The gravity survey completed in 2008 displays displacements in the gravity high that are coincident with known mineralization. These displacements, believed to be caused by faulting, are not evident in the historical datasets. This area has had limited work completed and was underexplored by previous operators. Three historic RAB holes were drilled on the edge of the gravity high but were only selectively sampled, thus, are not considered to be definitive.
The area immediately to the north of Deflector's known mineralization has a strike length of 400 metres while the next offset from the gravity high has a strike length of 1,400 metres.
Target 3 -- Deflector (inferred resources below Deflector Central and West Open pits)
A significant portion of the current National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource at Deflector is classified as inferred and has not been adequately tested at depth. A principal focus of this 10,000-metre drill program will be to upgrade the current inferred resource and to expand the deposit at depth.
In addition, a fourth area, with two near-surface targets known as Golden Stream and Tintoretto will also be tested.
Gunbarrel Project
The Gunbarrel Project includes a total of 98 square kilometers (km2) of mineral tenements covering 10 kilometres of strike along the northern extension of the Archean Eureka Greenstone Belt. The project is located 450 km north of Perth and 110 kilometres east of the gold mining centre of Wiluna.
The Gunbarrel Project is prospective for gold, nickel sulphides and associated platinum group elements (PGEs) and other base metals. The property is directly north along strike of property owned by Australian Stock Exchange listed Cullen Resources Limited (“Cullen”) and in joint venture with BHP Billiton (“BHPB”) where previous reverse circulation (RC) drilling of the Central Zone at Southern Prospect returned encouraging intersections including:
2 metres at 10.0 grams per tonne gold (g/t) from 50 metres depth;
7 metres at 9.0 g/t gold from 116 metres; and
9 metres at 6.2 g/t gold from 98 metres.
Gold mineralization occurs in shallow dipping quartz lode zones hosted by mafic rocks. Interpretation of airborne magnetic data indicates numerous other untested gold targets across the project. In 2005, the Cullen and BHP Billiton joint venture announced that a zone of combined nickel, copper and PGE mineralization has been confirmed over a strike length of approximately seven kilometres. Subsequent diamond drilling by Cullen/BHPB intersected disseminated and massive nickel and copper sulphide mineralization.
ATW anticipates that the first phase of exploration at Gunbarrel will include the acquisition and interpretation of remote sensed magnetic and electromagnetic (EM) data, followed by a surface geologic program of soil sampling, outcrop prospecting and follow-up of soil, geochemical, EM or magnetic targets identified.
Board of Directors and Key Management
| Brent Butler | President, Chief Executive Officer and Director |
| Graham L. Harris | Chairman and Director |
| Andrew W. Bowering | Chief Financial Officer and Director |
| David Stone | Director |
| Robert W. Schafer | Director |
| Luke A. Norman | Director, VP Corporate Development |
| Jasvir K. Kaloti | Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary |
Company AddressSuite 2007 – 1177 West Hastings Street
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Additional Address/Key ContactHead Office: |
CapitalIssued/Outstanding Common Shares: 69,429,046
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Broker/Analyst Reports
15/05/08 - The Grandich Letter
02/05/08 - Jay Taylor
01/04/08 - Gold Newsletter
01/03/08 - ResourceOpportunities
Related News
17/09/09 - Mother Nature Plays Tricks With ATW’s Burnakura Orebody, But Profits Shouldn’t Be Too Badly Impacted15/07/09 - ATW Gold Trumps Orvana In The Battle For Kinbauri, And Now Aims To Move Rapidly To Production Of 250,000 Ounces Per Year
27/01/09 - ATW Gold Should Be In Production From Its First Australian Gold Mine Next Month
23/06/08 - ATW Venture Picks Up Two Great Projects In Australia, But Needs To Build A Bigger Fan Club
Most Recent Statement
29/10/09 - ATW Settles Suit with Orvana over Kinbauri Break Up Fee26/10/09 - ATW Reaches Settlement with Red Kite on Burnakura Gold Loan
19/10/09 - ATW Settles Red Kite Burnakura Gold Loan
07/10/09 - Red Kite Agrees to Transfer Debt to Gullewa as ATW puts Burnakura Back on Care and Maintenance
22/09/09 - ATW Files Suit for Kinbauri Break Up Fee
17/09/09 - ATW to Commence Phase 2 Drill Program at Gullewa