Strip Ratio will be reduced by Grade Control drilling
Strip ratio is the ratio of economic ore to waste ore which must be removed to access the economic ore.
Grade control was planned but had not taken place prior to the 2022 Feasability Study.
Grade control is very closely spaced drilling which increases the spatial resolution of grade differences of ore and waste boundaries within the pit, enhancing mine selectivity, reducing the strip ratio and decreasing mining costs.
Waste mining is one of the largest contributors to cash costs.
Grade control is now underway at HD and is expected to be completed by exit this month .
This should result in a signifucant reduction in mining costs along with the fact that during the past two years the HD mine site has been cleared of brush and debris,
Further, grade control often finds veins that were missed by regular definition drilling, so a possible increase in resources might result ..