Bellevue Gold: the view from the top

Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL) has been busy establishing a growth platform that will springboard the company to its place as a 200,000ozpa gold giant.

The miner saw 2024 as a major mining productivity enabler for the flagship Bellevue Gold Project, with works that will set the project up for the long-life, large-scale operations required to actualise the company’s production ambitions.

Works involved underground infrastructure upgrades, including ventilation and pumping systems, and the commissioning of additional jumbos to boost development rates.

The results of these efforts are already being seen, as development rates increased in the second half of 2024, with a culmination of record development advance in the month of December (more than 1,400m).

This positions the project to unlock key high-grade mining areas in H2 FY25, where Bellevue expects development rates to continue to increase. Increased access to high-grade mining areas is forecast to deliver on the more than 200,000ozpa run rate.

Alongside foundational improvements, the miner hit the ground running with consistent processing, operational at 1mtpa and with 1.25mtpa successfully tested — all while achieving improved recoveries of 95% by the year end.

The Australian Mining Review speaks with Bellevue Gold managing director and chief executive Darren Stralow as the company progresses towards its production target and the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions comes closer to reality.

AMR: Bellevue has said it is set to become the only pureplay, more than 200kozpa gold producer, with about 5g/t gold head grade in a Tier 1 jurisdiction. What sets Bellevue’s operations apart from other producers?

DS: Compared to the market, Bellevue is a relatively simple operation to understand. We have one high-grade underground mine that feeds a simple, newly constructed mill that is located on the mine property.

Mining is conducted via long hole open stoping —which is a very common practice used in WA — and the ore is free-milling requiring a carbon in leach (CIL) processing circuit with high gold recovery. As a newly built operation (first gold pour was October 2023), Bellevue has a long life of profitable production ahead of it.

AMR: How does Bellevue’s approach to operational simplicity enable significant gold production?

DS: Bellevue has a high-grade Resource with ~10g/t of gold, and a high-grade Reserve of ~5g/t. This, combined with dependable operational results and stable costs, is forecast to create significant profitability over the 10+ year forecast mine life.

AMR: How will Bellevue’s transition to underground only ore allow operations to ramp up to greater than 1mtpa mining rates? What are the advantages of an underground only approach?

DS: During construction, two small open pits were mined at Bellevue — one which was a Reserve in the middle of the planned tailings footprint (Vanguard) and one required to access the hard rock towards the southern end of the property for the commencement of the Tribune decline.

Ore from Vanguard and Tribune is lower grade than the underground feed and was used to supplement the feed to the processing plant as the underground mine was established and ramped up. The open pit feed has now been exhausted and the underground has ramped up meaning that the feed grade to the mill, and therefore gold production, will increase.

AMR: How are the stage 1 and stage 2 processing expansions tracking?

DS: The Stage 1 processing upgrade is underway, with GR Engineering Services currently on site undertaking the works. The first phase of the project is complete, allowing for increased mill throughput at a 1.35mtpa run rate for Q4 FY25.

The stage 2 expansion is still in scoping study phase and will increase throughput to 1.6mtpa. The need for processing throughput upgrades is driven by increased mining volumes from underground as more mining fronts are accessed and productivities increase.

AMR: Bellevue is targeting net zero (scope 1 and 2) greenhouse gas emissions by CY26. What efforts support this strategy?

DS: Bellevue has a longstanding commitment to sustainability which is ingrained in its company vision and purpose. In 2021 Bellevue made a commitment to achieve net zero emissions (scope 1 and scope 2) by 2026 for the Bellevue Gold Project — which we are on track to achieve.

The driver of this target is the construction of a world-leading power station, targeting up to ~80% renewable energy penetration across the year, with up to ~90% renewables in the summer months. The power station is in the final stages of construction with the thermal (primarily natural gas with diesel backup) and solar online and just the wind turbines remaining to be completed by mid-2025.

The power station is designed for ‘engine off’ capability to run entirely on renewable energy, which is unique compared to other similar stations. 80% renewable energy would set a new benchmark for the sector, as Bellevue Gold is forecast to be one of the most renewably powered mines in Australia.

Bellevue Gold Project is a high-grade gold deposit, which means there are inherently low emissions per ounce, which are then further reduced via use of renewable energy.