Major player in the mining industry signs on to progress work on the Mt Carrington gold mine

Could this be the breakthrough needed to finally get the gold-silver mine under way west of Casino?

A company which has an “aggressive” strategy to consolidate mines in the Northern NSW area has agreed to progress the Mt Carrington site near Drake. Picture: Rob Leeson.

A company that is emerging as a significant player in the mining industry has come on board to advance the gold and silver mine at Drake, west of Casino.

White Rock Minerals confirmed Thomson Resources had entered into a binding and exclusive agreement for a three-stage joint venture.

As part of the deal, Thomson Resources would fund the advancement of the Mt Carrington gold and silver project through to its Definitive Feasibility Study stage, and then complete and submit the Environmental Impact Statement.

There would also be a community consultation phase.

The goal is to achieve development consent from the government so the project can move ahead.

 

Thomson Resources has signed on to progress the Mt Carrington gold-silver project at Drake, west of Casino.

 

With its involvement in Mt Carrington, Thomson Resources is becoming a major industry player in gold and silver resources in NSW.

They have also acquired Webbs, a high-grade silver deposit near Inverell, and Conrad, which was historically one of the largest silver mines in the New England region.

The Hortons gold mine, near Tenterfield, was acquired late last year.

And in an announcement this week, Thomson Resources revealed it had also bought the Texas Silver Project.

It is an "aggressive" strategy to bring key resources together into an "overarching project", Thomson's executive chairman, David Williams, said.

 

Gold mines near Drake in the Mt Carrington area.

 

"Thomson is building momentum with its ongoing consolidation efforts focused on its new 'Hub and Spoke' silver-gold strategy," he said.

"Mt Carrington is a high quality precious metals project that complements the company's existing quality silver assets at Webbs, Conrad and adds value to Thomson's near by highly prospective Horton gold project.

"Mt Carrington is well advanced down the Feasibility Study path, and with due diligence completed at both Webbs and Conrad, there is an ability to bring together the different resources in these silver-gold deposits to significantly strengthen the economic viability of all the projects."

Managing director and chief executive of White Rock, Matt Gill, said they were pleased to partner with a "visionary group" like Thomson Resources.

 

Open pits at White Rock Minerals' Mt Carrington site, near Drake.

 

"They have a clear strategy to unlock the potential from the consolidation of various gold and silver assets in and around our advanced Mt Carrington project in NSW," he said.

Thomson is already moving ahead with its plans for the Northern NSW sites.

Their geoscience consultants, Global Ore Discovery, are reviewing the Hortons historic database and the exploration target inventory at Mt Carrington to define and prioritise the gold and silver targets for future drill testing.

They also recently completed a two-day field review at Mt Carrington.