14 | Prospects looking positive Rua’s Reefton exploratory area covers a combined 120,000ha across the Reefton goldfield that yielded more than 2m ounces of gold up until the early 1950s, T T Hugh de Lacy Rua Gold REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT The further that Rua Gold gets into the exploratory drilling of its two targets in Reefton, the brighter the prospects look for both the company and the town. The Auld Creek and Cumberland targets form the first of many that Rua Gold would like to have in production and, if the drilling goes well, the company says thaat could be as early as 2027, once exploration and consenting are complete. But already the ground has proven so rich, that Rua Gold’s chief executive Rob Eckford says Reefton could still be producing “20, 30, perhaps even 40 years from now”. “It’s not just gold that we’re after. We’ll also be mining antimony, a mineral that exists in the same rock in which we’re finding the gold, and for which huge demand has developed worldwide. “Everyone’s very excited about the antimony in particular, and we’re already fielding inquiries for it from Japan and the United States,” Rob says. Used mainly as an ingredient in alloys, antimony has become increasingly sought-after as the planet is scoured for rare earth minerals. Listed on the Canadian securities exchange as Rua, the company has already spent over $40 million, and is funded for a further exploration programme that’s underway in Reefton, after consolidating several tenements there under the one company. Rua’s Reefton exploratory area covers a combined 120,000ha in contiguous tenements across the Reefton goldfield that yielded more than two million ounces of gold up until the early 1950s, but has seen only limited exploration work over the last 30 years. Typical of the Reefton resource are outcrops assayed at an impressive 16.4gm per tonne over seven metres, with pockets hitting 32.34gm over one-metre intervals. The company has taken more than 20,000 soil samples over the past three years, discovering the previously unexplored but rich Pactolus outcrop. Rua Gold is a relatively new entrant in the New Zealand mining industry, and as well as its Reefton goldfield project it has a 15,000ha area near OceanaGold’s famous Waihi mine in the Hauraki District, where it has launched a programme of soil sampling, geological mapping and magnetic and resistivity geophysical surveys. This project, called Glamorgan, is in the Hauraki goldfield just 2.8km north of Oceana’s newly discovered Wharekirauponga claim, which has recorded up to an extraordinary 95g/t, and Rua expects the same epithermal mineralised system to be present in Glamorgan. Exploratory drilling began there after Rua signed a Minimum Impact Access Agreement with the Department of Conservation late last year, and the company has now applied for an Access Agreement to start drilling before the end of this year. Resources Minister Shane Jones recently described Rua’s discoveries as “an exciting development for the diversification of our minerals offerings,” with huge implications for Reefton. “We could be sitting on another Macraes-scale gold deposit,” he said, referring to Oceana’s huge mine in West Otago. Rob Eckford agrees the impact on Reefton could be enormous. “It’s such a good place to be and the community really gets behind us,” he says. Natural Resources Natural Resources We’re proud to support Rua Gold The leading contract mining and earthmoving organisation in the South Island of New Zealand. •Contract Mining • Plant Hire • Mine Rehabilitation • Drill and Blast •Civil Engineering •Road Haulage 03 732 7033 | admin@rosco.net.nz | 2667 SH7, RD1, Reefton We have a large fleet of wholly owned modern equipment focused on reputable brands. Most of our plant fleet is available for hire either wet including operators and fuel, or dry for both short term and long term hire periods. MORE THAN 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
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