The Blayney – Kings Plains district has been the subject of alluvial and hard rock mining in the mid to late 19th century and sporadic exploration for gold and base metals over various exploration licences since the 1960s. Nine different exploration licence holders have explored the area since that time, leading up to the discovery of the McPhillamys deposit.

More recently, between 2006 and 2009, exploration targeting gold mineralisation at McPhillamys on EL5760 was undertaken by LFB Resources NL, which at that time was a joint venture between Newmont Exploration Pty Ltd and Alkane Resources Ltd, referred to as the Newmont Alkane JV.

Having identified the McPhillamys deposit within the “Ingledoon” property, a program of diamond core drilling was undertaken in 2010 by the Newmont Alkane JV to further define the known mineralisation and metallurgical characterisation of the deposit. At the completion of this exploration program, a potentially economic resource was confirmed subject to further feasibility assessment. In November 2012, Regis Resources Limited (Regis) acquired LFB Resources NL from the Newmont Alkane JV. Regis then completed an infill resource drilling program in the first half of 2013 to confirm the earlier exploration results and to increase the confidence level of the resource model. A resource estimate was prepared in July 2014. In mid-2016, Regis commenced a further round of drilling to refine the resource estimate and to obtain additional information required to complete a Pre-feasibility Study. That study has culminated in an updated mineral resource estimate and maiden ore reserve estimate released in September 2017. 

Regis’ Board anticipates making a final development decision for McPhillamys following the receipt of all required approvals.

The key aspects of the project are summarised below.

• Development and operation of an open cut gold mine, comprising approximately one to two years of construction, approximately 10 years of mining and processing and a closure period (including the final rehabilitation phase) of approximately three to four years, noting there may be some overlap of these phases. The total project life for which approval is sought is 15 years.
  
  
• Development and operation of a single circular open cut mine with a maximum diameter at the surface of approximately 1,050 metres (m) and a final depth of approximately 460 m, developed by conventional open cut mining methods encompassing drill, blast, load and haul operations.
  
  
• Construction and use of a conventional carbon-in-leach processing plant consisting of a run-of-mine (ROM) pad and crushing, grinding, gravity, leaching, gold recovery, tailings thickening, cyanide destruction and tailings management circuits. Gold will be taken off-site to customers via road transport.
  
  
• Placement of waste rock into a waste rock emplacement. A portion of the waste rock emplacement will be constructed and rehabilitated early in the project life to act as an amenity bund.
  
  
• Construction and use of an engineered tailings storage facility to store tailings material.
  
  
• Construction and operation of associated mine infrastructure including:
  
  • administration buildings;
  • workshop and stores facilities, including associated plant parking, laydown and hardstand areas, vehicle washdown facilities, and fuel and lubricant storage;
  • internal road network;
  • explosives magazine and ammonium nitrate emulsion (ANE) storage;
  • topsoil, subsoil and capping stockpiles;
  • ancillary facilities, including fences, access roads, car parking areas and communications infrastructure; and
  • on-site laboratory.
    
    
• Establishment and use of a site access road and intersection with the Mid Western Highway.
  
  
• Construction and operation of water management infrastructure, including raw water storage dam, clean water and process water diversions and storages, and sediment control infrastructure.
  
  
• A peak construction workforce of approximately 710 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. During operations, an average workforce of around 260 FTE employees will be required, peaking at approximately 320 FTEs in around years four and five of the project.
  
  
• Construction and operation of a water supply pipeline approximately 90 km long from Centennial’s Angus Place and SCSO; and Energy Australia’s MPPS operations near Lithgow to the mine development project area. The pipeline development will include approximately four pumping station facilities, a pressure reducing system and communication system. Approximately 13 ML/day (up to a maximum of 15.6 ML/day) will be transferred for mining and processing operations.
  
  
• Installation and use of environmental management and monitoring equipment.
  
  
• Progressive rehabilitation throughout the mine life. At the end of mining, mine infrastructure will be decommissioned, and disturbed areas will be rehabilitated to integrate with natural landforms as far as practicable. The final landform, apart from the final void, will support land uses similar to current land uses or land uses consistent with land use strategies of the Blayney and Cabonne LGAs.