Cortona Resources says it has all approvals needed to start work on an underground gold mine at Majors Creek, east of Braidwood, and is widening it search, talking up the region as a significant gold-producing area.
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Cortona has approval for paste-fill at Dargues Reef - mixing tailings with a binder such as cement and storing it below ground in previously worked voids.
The Perth-based company said paste-fill would deliver financial, safety and environmental benefits to the project.
Earlier this year Cortona said it had secured $42 million from Deutsche Bank to begin developing the underground mine, which the company expects will generate cash flow of $125 million over an initial six-year life.
Cortona is applying to modify an operating license at the London Victoria processing site at Parkes where it will truck ore from Majors Creek.
The site is used for crushing and grinding limestone products, while the gold leaching and recovery part of the plant is unused.
Cortona did not return calls yesterday by The Canberra Times. In the statement managing director Peter van der Borgh said re-starting exploration drilling signalled an exciting new phase of activity on the site.
''While our main focus is obviously on continuing to move Dargues as rapidly as possible to development, we have also been doing a lot of very effective work on the exploration front as well,'' he said.
''This has resulted in some exciting new discoveries which will be drill tested now for the first time.
''Of particular note are the two new areas at Nightingale and Redbank, which are both in close proximity [about 800 metres] to the proposed infrastructure at Dargues Reef.
