KOTH General Manager, Neal Valk (center) congratulates Processing Manager Chris Witt (right) with
Mining Manager Andrew McRae (left) holding Red 5’s first gold bar poured at King of the Hills on June 5.

The gyratory crushing circuit has been running on a combination of oxide and fresh material for more than 40 days and has achieved throughput rates above 1,600 metric tons hour (mt/h). The grinding circuit and wet plant continue to ramp up, with the SAG mill now achieving throughput rates over 600 mt/h per at moderate mill load and power draw.

In the coming weeks, the KOTH processing team will continue to focus on increasing the mill production rate and completing outstanding punch list items with the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. The team is well placed to increase the KOTH processing plant to full capacity, with more than 800,000 mt, or approximately two months of feed stock now on the run-of-mine (ROM) pad.

Red 5 Managing Director Mark Williams said the first gold pour marked a huge milestone for the company and its shareholders. “It marks the beginning of a new era for Red 5, with the new 4.7-millon-mtper- year King of the Hills processing plant set to become a highly efficient production hub,” Williams said. “There are promising signs regarding future throughput potential and with two months of feed stocks ready for processing and mining now well established, we have a strong platform to build upon.”