WA-focused gold developer and explorer Bellevue Gold and Australia-focused precious and base metals explorer Chalice Mining are the recipients of the coveted Craig Oliver Award, presented on the first day of the 20th RIU Explorers Conference.

The Award – which is in memory of Craig Oliver, the former Sundance Resources director and major contributor to the mining industry – recognises the ASX resource sector’s best all-round achievers throughout the year.

In accepting the award, in front of a packed ballroom at The Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle, Bellevue Gold managing director Steve Parsons said he was proud of Bellevue for its efforts over the past 12 months.

“It’s a great project but it’s got great people as well and it’s the people that is the really important thing,” he said.

“People strive for the vision of the company on where to grow and we certainly have the vision at Bellevue over the next 18 months to be one of the next gold producers here in WA, to be one of the most profitable gold mines in Australia and have the vision to be one of greenest in Australia and that’s all down to the staff and the people that really do believe in what we are doing at Bellevue.”

Chalice Mining managing director Alex Dorsch said he was grateful to accept the award on behalf of his team, “particularly the geologists who have made a great discovery just outside of Perth”.

“We have high levels of excitement about it and we are looking to progress our discovery ahead as quickly as possible,” he said.

RIU Explorers Conference managing director Stewart McDonald said both Bellevue and Chalice were deserved winners of the award.

“For the first time in the history of Craig Oliver award, we have a tie. While all five nominees delivered significant achievements throughout the past 12 months, Bellevue and Chalice stood out from the pack,” he said.

Other companies nominated this year for the 2020 Craig Oliver Award were:

  • De Grey Mining
  • Fenix Resources
  • Perseus Mining
Bellevue Gold managing director Steve Parsons (right) and Chalice Mining managing director Alex Dorsch (left) accepting the Craig Oliver award from RIU Explorers Conference managing director Stewart McDonald.

About Bellevue Gold

Listing on the ASX in 2005, Bellevue Gold has been busy advancing the historic Bellevue Gold Mine in WA, which, in its day, was one of Australia’s highest-grade gold mines producing 800,000oz at 15g/t gold from 1986 to 1997.

The historic mine – located some 30km north of Leinster township and sits in a major gold and nickel producing district – was closed and forgotten for over 20 years and has not benefited from modern exploration and development advances.

Bellevue Gold is the first company to apply modern exploration techniques and since work commenced in late 2017 the company has discovered numerous new high-grade lodes and anticipates further discovery success as it continues its aggressive drill program into 2021.

The company has a global JORC Resource of 2.41moz at 10g/t, gold making it one of the highest-grade undeveloped gold discoveries in the world.

Infill drilling last year at the Deacon and Bellevue North lodes increased the Indicated Resource by 20% (180,000oz) to 1.04moz gold at 11.4g/t while Inferred Resource currently stands at 1.37moz at 9.2 g/t.

About Chalice Mining

Listing on the ASX in 2006, Chalice Mining made a globally significant, high-grade Platinum Group element-nickel-copper-cobalt-gold discovery in March at the Julimar Project in WA on the very first drill hole at the project – 19m at 8.4g/t palladium, 2.6% nickel, 1.0% copper and 0.1% cobalt from 48m.

The 100% owned Julimar project covers the 26km long, unexplored Julimar Intrusive Complex, 70km NE of Perth. The discovery is considered Australia’s first major PGE discovery and has established the new West Yilgarn nickel-copper-PGE Province, along the western margin of the Yilgarn Craton.

Drilling at the 1.6km x 0.8km Gonneville Intrusion, at the southern-end of the Julimar Complex on private farmland, has since outlined an exceptional scale mineral system, with a range of mineralisation styles.

The Company is targeting a maiden Mineral Resource at Gonneville in mid-2021.

Chalice’s portfolio also includes a number of generative exploration opportunities in premier terranes across Australia, including the 5000km2 Pyramid Hill Gold Project in Victoria and the 1800km2 Hawkstone nickel-copper-cobalt Project in WA.

About the Craig Oliver Award

The award is in memory of Craig Oliver who in 2010 was on the Sundance Resources plane which tragically crashed in the Congo with the loss of all people on board.

Mr Oliver had made a lasting contribution to Australian mining over the course of his 20-year career. He was an all-rounder who was involved in many aspects of the industry, including exploration, mining, financing and developing new projects, promoting companies and fighting political battles.

He was one of the key people behind the successful Anti-Resources Tax rally held in Perth in mid-2010.

Previous winners were:

  • 2011 Independence Group NL
  • 2012 Silver Lake Resources Ltd
  • 2013 Sirius Resources NL
  • 2014 Northern Star Resources Ltd
  • 2015 Doray Minerals Ltd
  • 2016 Metals X Ltd
  • 2017 Evolution Mining Ltd
  • 2018 Pilbara Minerals Ltd
  • 2019 MOD Resources Ltd
  • 2020 Stavely Minerals Ltd

About the RIU Explorers Conference

The RIU Explorers Conference – which is celebrating its 20th year – is one of the largest junior exploration events in Australia, featuring presentations from more than 70 resource companies exploring and/or mining for commodities ranging from precious metals (gold and silver), base metals (copper, nickel and zinc) through to battery metals (cobalt and lithium).

Along with the presentations, more than 100 exploration and mining companies, government bodies and mining services companies are featured in the exhibition area.

Advertisement