Great Divide Mining Ltd has moved to accelerate near-term cash generation at its wholly owned Challenger Gold Mine in Adelong, NSW, utilising historical mullock stockpiles on site for initial process plant feed.

The mullock provides a low-cost and immediate production feed as commissioning works continue.

The priority mullock sites — Currajong, Great Victoria/Annetts/Research, Donkey Hill and Radcliffe/O’Briens — comprise stockpiles ranging from 10,500 to 35,000 tonnes at average gold grades between 1.38g/t and 1.6g/t.

“The mullock sits at surface, eliminating drilling and conventional mining costs, with short off-road haulage distances to the upgraded Challenger processing plant,” said CEO Justin Haines.

“Seizing this opportunity materially strengthens the Company’s restart strategy,” he said.

“This is exactly the kind of opportunity we look for at historic goldfields. The material is already mined, it’s sitting at surface, and at grades higher than some operating hard-rock mines,” Mr. Haines continued.

“With record gold prices and minimal recovery costs, mullock processing provides a straightforward pathway to early cashflow while we continue ramp-up activities across the broader Challenger site,” he said

Local contractor L.A. Broome Contracting will mobilise within two to three weeks to commence haulage of mullock to the ROM pad, ensuring consistent plant feed as commissioning progresses.

GDM is taking a “treat-all” strategy to the mullock to maximise gold recovery.

Challenger, part of GDM’s 70km² Adelong Project, is being recommissioned under a staged “crawl-walk-run” restart plan designed to establish commercial production while expanding operational capacity.

“Cleaning up the mullock onsite is a win for the environment as well,” said Haines.