HOME

The Challenger Gold Mine

P Androvic1, P Bamford2 and M Sandy3

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION
The Challenger Gold deposit was discovered in 1995 by Dominion The Challenger Gold deposit was discovered in 1995 by
Mining Ltd in a remote western area of the Gawler Craton in South Dominion Mining Ltd (Dominion) in a remote western area of the
Australia. Mine development commenced in 2002 with initial production Gawler Craton in South Australia. Mine development commenced
from an open pit supplemented by ore from a very small adjacent in 2002 with initial production from an open pit supplemented by
auxiliary pit. Development of the underground mine commenced in 2004. ore from a very small adjacent auxiliary pit (SEZ). Development
The orebody plunge of just less than 30 degrees requires careful of the underground mine commenced in 2004.
attention to mine design. Production from the M1 orebody, with less than
800 ounces per vertical metre (ovm) and very limited ‘surge’ capacity,
Greatly improved understanding of the mineralisation
requires careful scheduling and implementation to ensure continuity of controls resulted in important changes being made to the
ore feed for milling. underground mine design and method. Coupled with careful
Initial production results from underground stopes included more
control of development and drilling and blasting practices, this
dilution than anticipated. The narrow, high-grade zones proved to have resulted in an immediate reduction in dilution and increased
much more complex geometry than early interpretations had indicated. recovery of resource.
Greatly improved understanding of the mineralisation controls resulted The benefits of these changes flowed through in the 2005/06
in important changes being made to the underground mine design and financial year, resulting in a 150 per cent increase in gold
method. Coupled with careful control of development and drilling and production to 108 080 oz and a sharp reduction in cash operating
blasting practices, this resulted in an immediate reduction in dilution and costs to A$280/oz. This was followed in 2006/07 with 108 191 oz
high recoveries of the resource. of gold produced at an operating cost of $309/oz and in 2007/08
The benefits of these changes flowed through in the 2005/06 financial with 109 326 oz of gold at $367/oz.
year, resulting in a 150 per cent increase in gold production to 108 080 oz Production to June 2008 has been mainly from the M1
and a sharp reduction in cash operating costs to A$280/oz. This was orebody, with the lowest stoping to date on the 580 m Level
followed in 2006/07 with production of 108 91 oz of gold at an (615 m below surface) above development mining the 520 Level.
operating cost of $309/oz and in 2007/08 with 109 326 oz of gold The adjacent M2 and M3 orebodies are also being developed for
at $367/oz.
stoping in the near future. The narrow width of these zones will
Production to June 2008 has been mainly from the M1 orebody, with require continued focus on ore zone definition, accurate
the lowest stoping to date on the 580 m Level (615 m below surface) development and careful drill and blast practice.
above development mining on the 520 Level. The rate of vertical advance
of mining this orebody has averaged 150 vertical metres per year. The rate of vertical advance of mining this orebody has
The increased current combined JORC compliant resource and averaged 150 vertical metres per year.
reserve position of over one million ounces, now includes the M2 and
M3 orebodies with a current total average gold inventory up to 1400 - DISCOVERY
1500 ovm. Exploration has intersected other shoots and all shoots are
open at depth. The Challenger Gold Deposit was discovered in 1995 by
The adjacent M2 and M3 orebodies are being developed for stoping. Dominion. Dominion had been exploring in the Gawler Craton
The narrow width of these zones from 1 m up to 4 m will require since 1991 and was one of the first companies to use the
continued focus on ore zone definition, accurate development and careful pre-PIRSA funded exploration initiative data from the early 1990s.
drill and blast practice. In addition, to minimise cost increases in the Using a calcrete sampling method to generate subsoil anomalies
current period of rapidly escalating labour, equipment, consumables and pioneered by Dominion, a number of interesting anomalies were
energy costs, high productivities will need to be maintained to allow the discovered in the region (outlined in Bonwick, 1997).
established rapid mining advance to continue at low unit costs. Initially using a 1.6 km × 1.6 km grid a number of significant
anomalies were generated and subjected to infill sampling.
LOCATION Infilling of the regional sampling grids occurred by
progressively decreasing the size of the patterns down to 400 m ×
The Challenger Gold Mine is owned and operated by Dominion 400 m then 100 m × 50 m, eventually homing in on the Challenger
Gold Operations, a wholly owned entity of Dominion Mining gold and arsenic anomaly, (Figure 2). An initial RAB drilling
Ltd. Challenger is located 750 km NW of Adelaide in the Gawler program targeting the calcrete anomaly delivered an intersection
Craton (Figure 1) with the nearest community of Coober Pedy, of 28 m @ 5.8 g/t, which launched the Challenger project.
300 km by road to the NE.
The mining lease is situated within the Commonwealth
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
Hill/Mobella Pastoral Lease as well as within the Woomera
Prohibitive Area (WPA). Following a period of frenetic drilling in 1997 and 1998 that
defined the original resource, the project was the subject of a
50/50 Joint Venture with Resolute Ltd who were managers of the
project. A prefeasibility was conducted but little development took
1. MAusIMM, Manager, Mining and Geology, Dominion Gold place. Dominion took full control of the Challenger project again
Operations, PO Box 453, Torrensville SA 5041. in December 2000 and completed a feasibility study in late 2001.
Email: [email protected]
Construction of a conventional CIP plant was started with
2. FAusIMM, General Manager, Operations, Dominion Mining refurbishment of the Mt Monger ball mill from January 2002.
Limited, PO Box 465, West Perth WA 6872. Civils and earthworks began on site in April 2002 and were
Email: [email protected] completed as planned within a budget of $18.3 million inclusive
3. FAusIMM, Principal Geotechnical Engineer, AMC Consultants, 9 of all prestrip mining, owners costs up to plant commissioning,
Havelock Street, West Perth WA 6005. and the construction of village, borefield and treatment plant
Email: [email protected] facilities.

Narrow Vein Mining Conference Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 19

P ANDROVIC, P BAMFORD and M SANDY

FIG 1 - Challenger location.

excavator and a fleet of Komatsu 50 t haul trucks plus ancillary

plant. The weathering profile allowed the pit to be excavated
‘free dig’ down to 33 m below surface before fresh rock required
blasting. The massive nature of the Challenger gneiss, poor
natural fracturing and indistinct geology in the pit resulted in
difficult interpretation of ore zones.
The 380 m by 320 m open pit was grade controlled on 18 m
panels using an RC drill rig and benches were fired on 5 m
heights and mined on 2.5 - 3.0 m flitches. Ore was classified into
four categories, ‘LG’ (1.0 - 1.7 g/t), ‘Blue’ (1.7 - 2.5 g/t), ‘Green’
(2.5 - 5.0 g/t) and ‘Red’ (5.0 g/t+) and placed on the ROM pad
into discrete stockpiles per bench that enabled an accurate
reconciliation tracking process as well as the development of
some large low grade stockpiles.
Blast hole logging and mapping of bench faces did not provide
significant geological control. The true structural geometry of the
ore was still not apparent as no ore was exposed for mapping in
the pit walls until the lower sections of the pit. While there was
an understanding that the ore was folded, the nature and
complexity was still not apparent with the ore mined in robust
blocks that did not necessarily highlight any structural continuity.
The open pit was mined to a depth of 135 m and completed as
scheduled in April 2004.

FIG 2 - Infill calcrete sampling to 100 x 100 m. REGIONAL GEOLOGY

Prestrip mining had commenced in April 2002 to uncover the Challenger occurs within the Mulgathing Complex with the
orebody and ensure sufficient ore was available to commission earliest recognised event being the Sleafordian Orogeny (2950 -
the treatment plant in October 2002. 3150 Ma?) followed by the Kimban Orogeny between 1745 and
1845 Ma.
The area is characterised by Archean to mid Proterozoic, high-
OPEN PIT MINING
grade metamorphism (granulite) gneissic basement. The
Mining began in May 2002 and the open pit produced 120 000 oz original granulite facies metamorphism then retrograded to
from an initial reserve estimate of 110 000 oz including a small amphibolite facies recrystallisation around 1650 - 1540 Ma
satellite pit, the SEZ. The open pit was mined using a PC1600 (Tomkins, 2002).

20 Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 Narrow Vein Mining Conference

 THE CHALLENGER GOLD MINE

Lamprophyre sills cross cut all structures and have an age of by flexures of drag folds in the foliation in response to regional
c.1650 Ma. Dolerite Dykes have been imprecisely dated at folding. These inferred fold axes are interpreted to have the same
between 750 and 1425 Ma. plunges as the ore shoots.
M1 veins have a highly folded nature and the M1 shoot is an
CHALLENGER GEOLOGY antiformal fold that is characterised by a thick package of
upright, tightly folded quartz and leucosome veins that have fold
The saprolitic clays extended to 40 - 50 m depths in the ore axes plunging parallel with the ore shoot, 30° → 060°.
zones with the base of oxidation tending to be deeper in relation There is evidence (Standing, 2003) of extreme transposition and
to the ore. extensional rodding of leucosome bands within the psammo pelitic
There are five main rock types: gneiss. The long axis of the rodded leucosome quartz is parallel
1. Massive, granulite facies gneiss. Medium grained, psammo- with the plunge of the drag folds and the overall M1 plunge.
pelitic in origin with dominant plagioclase, garnet and With folding being a prepeak metamorphic structural feature
lesser biotite and orthpyroxene. as with the gold mineralisation, quartz veins should be deformed
in a similar manner to the leucosome. An inference can be drawn
2. Medium to coarse-grained massive pegmatitic granulite that the Challenger shoots were once a continuous ore zone or
gneiss. two parallel ore zones striking NW-SE, prior to extreme
3. Garnet rich plus biotite foliated feldspathic gneiss. WNW-ESE shortening and extension directed shallowly towards
the NE (Figure 3).
4. Massive lamprophyre dykes, massive with porphyritic
phlogopite and clinopyroxenes.
5. Thin mafic dolerite dykes.
The mafic dykes are the youngest lithological unit and the
contact orientation is the same across the gneiss and
lamprophyre. The lamprophyre sill has been observed in the
mapping to be truncated by the mafic dolerite and the
lamprophyre is significantly younger than the gneiss.
The main mineralogy in the ore zones is arsenopyrite/
loellingite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, Au-Bi telluride and Au. Biotite
appears as a retrograde product of pyroxene. A pervasive
alteration found in late fracture selvedges and on lamprophyre
dyke margins. This is characterised by sericite, carbonate,
chlorite, serpentine and leucoxene.
There are three main leucosome/vein styles:
1. quartz dominant veins, which may be remnant pre-
metamorphic mineralised veins;
2. polysilicate veins, which are dominant in the main ore
zones and are well mineralised; and
3. pegmatitic veins which are late stage veins with cross-
cutting relationships and are unmineralised.
High-grade gold appears associated with coarse grain quartz
veins with arsenopyrite and lesser feldspar and telluride. Garnet FIG 3 - Cartoon showing the progressive shortening of psammitic
and biotite also occur with free gold and are associated with beds (So) to produce tight to isoclinal folds that ultimately are
sulfides and/or Au-bismuth telluride. The first two leucosome/vein transposed by the axial planar foliation (S1) and local shear zones
types also contain the coarse visible gold. This high nugget-effect along attenuated limbs (S2). The psammitic bed could also
coarse gold is responsible for the variability in grade represent leucosome melt bands and quartz veins and is
reconciliation and to date the life of mine reconciliation is ~8 per independent of scale (from Standing, 2003).
cent more than the reserve estimates.
Current thoughts on the genesis of the ore shoots are that they Detailed mapping is necessary to lead to a better
are hosted within migmatites that have undergone partial melting. understanding of the fold structures. The scale and geometry of
It is possible that this melting ‘fertility’ may reflect a precursor the folding was and is still critical to the understanding and
hydrothermal alteration event, (McFarlane, Mavrogenes and predictability of the ore shoots.
Tomkins, 2007). The gold mineralisation is structurally controlled
There are three main fold types (Standing, 2006):
through emplacement of the partial melt into relatively low
strain positions. Monazite geochronology has outlined a 40 Ma 1. F1 – isoclinal folds;
period (2460 - 2420 Ma) of repeated high temperature events
(McFarlane, 2006). 2. F2 – upright to inclined, tight to close folds; and
3. F3 – reclined open folds.
STRUCTURE The F2 event is the dominant fold structure which controls the
morphology of the ore shoots. Understanding fold vergences is
The Challenger orebody is defined by a laterally extensive shear important where fold closures are obscured. The refolding by F2
zone with the shoots plunging ~30° to 030°- 035° (AMG) or folds of F1 folds often accounts for the sudden disappearance of
055°- 060° mine grid. The ore shoots are defined by leucosome ore zones with no obvious continuity. The wrapping around of
veins which show characteristic ptygmatic folding. This small these F1 folds into F2 geometry dominates the Challenger ore
scale folding is parasitic to the larger scale asymmetric folding shoots. F2 appears more complex due to its larger extent and
recognised in orientated drill core. Early work by Jon Standing difficulty in pinning any reference location when cross cutting
(Standing, 2003), had hypothesised that these shoots are defined through an asymmetrical long limb position.

Narrow Vein Mining Conference Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 21

P ANDROVIC, P BAMFORD and M SANDY

UNDERGROUND GEOLOGY Figure 5 also highlights the target rich environment which will
be investigated in due course. An exploration drive has been
Mapping of the shoots is critical in maintaining and understanding started on the 580 level to delineate the M3 zone at depth. The
the dynamic nature of the folded shoots (Figure 4). Changes in M3 shoot has been mined underground in the upper levels
plunge dip and orientation can create apparent lengthening of ore adjacent to the open pit and after M2 shoot, will be the next ore
drives. Changes in wavelength and frequency also affect the shoot brought into the mining cycle.
positioning of ore drives. Geological control is important in A second 250 m long exploration drive has been designed to
ensuring that each successive level is positioned appropriately and target the M1 footwall zone, M2 Footwall and allow for drilling
that changes in orientation are noted so that level infrastructure positions onto Challenger West. This drive will start on the
can be adjusted. Development drives following survey control are 800 level at the end of the M2 ore drive. An exploration drive is
a rarity. The ability to map and interpret the geology is crucial to currently being developed on the 580mRL along the M3 structure.
the ongoing development of the Challenger orebody. Mapping is By understanding the local structural geometry of the shoots
part of the mining cycle and most ore drives are under ‘geological and development of target positions, the Challenger operations are
control’ which necessitates that a good relationship be developed most likely to develop additional reserves and extend mine life.
with the mining contractor.
Figure 5 highlights the distribution of the ore shoots at
RESOURCE
Challenger that have been mined. The M1 shoot is a more
symmetrical and open fold system with M2 a combination of The Challenger Resource is advanced by directional surface
asymmetrical and symmetrical dominant fold zones with the diamond drilling. Section lines are spaced every 100 m with
M3 dominated by long limb asymmetrical folding. average hole lengths reaching 1.3 km on the deepest sections to

FIG 4 - Typical faces within M1.

FIG 5 - Challenger mine scale ore geometry and targets.

22 Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 Narrow Vein Mining Conference

 THE CHALLENGER GOLD MINE

date. Each parent hole has four to five daughter holes branching methodology is based on a ‘generic’ approach which takes into
off and these vary from 250 - 300 m in length each. The account both historic reconciled data from the underground
philosophy is to target the interpreted hinge position of the M1 mining using a 180 g/t Au top cut and continuity of orebody
while also intercepting the M3 and M2 before intersecting the geometry as interpreted from both drilling and underground
M1 shoot. development. This approach has proven to be a more accurate
Using a long directional drilled ‘navi’ bend to lift the parent basis for estimation than traditional block modeling. Block
hole ~20°, allows for the five daughter holes to be sequential modeling is used in other shoots where appropriate. The resource
drilled back up the bend of the drill hole. This allows for a spread to reserve conversion is based upon the geological outlines and
stope designs that incorporate planned dilution to allow for mining
of holes to cover any variation in the shoots plunge azimuth or
and geotechnical considerations.
dip, (Figure 6). The ultimate target window is 15 - 20 m and
holes are adjusted mid stream to account for natural hole An updated Resource statement, summarised in Table 1, was
deviation and the pierce point is adjusted up or down dip to suit. released to the ASX in July 2008 and highlights the success of
the ongoing Challenger Deeps drilling program.
The nuggetty high-grade orebody has also proven to possess
both a consistent structural geometry and robust grade continuity
vertically. A block modelling approach to estimate resource tonnes GROUND CONDITIONS AND ROCK MECHANICS
and grade was used through the open pit and first few years of the
underground. The block model interpolations underestimated Conditions in the upper levels were generally ‘extremely good’
tonnes, over estimate and under estimate grade and generally as described using the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute’s (NGI)
under estimated contained metal. A subsequent block modelling ‘Q’ system (Barton, Lien and Lunde, 1974), with typical Q
approach using ‘unfolding techniques’ and trialed in parallel values of >100 in the massive garnet gneiss that hosts the
during late 2004 through to 2006 resulted in a closer correlation mineralisation (Figure 7, Sandy, 2005).
but a similar under representation. As part of an ongoing, formal rock mechanics program at the
The poor ability of the ID2 block modelling interpolation project, rock property testwork has been undertaken for the major
techniques was demonstrated as not being suitable for resource rock types present, using the facilities at the Western Australian
estimation because of the nugget effect in addition to the local School of Mines (Scott, Machuca and Villaescusa, 2006). The
variability of the geometry. To this end, the Challenger resource results are consistent with data from other sites in similar

TABLE 1
July 2008 updated Resource and Reserve summary, ASX release July 2008.

Challenger Gold Project – 30 June 2008 Resource and Reserve summary

Resource Reserve
t g/t oz t g/t oz
Measured 456 100 9.1 132 810 Proven 522 300 7.3 122 040
Indicated 2 387 100 8.8 678 150 Probable 2 551 100 7.4 605 000
Inferred 1 133 900 9.6 348 870
Total 3 977 100 9.1 1 159 830 Total 3 073 400 7.4 727 040

FIG 6 - Schematic view of hole 07CDDH0078 and daughters.

Narrow Vein Mining Conference Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 23

P ANDROVIC, P BAMFORD and M SANDY

Ground conditions continue to be very good in much of the

development in the lower levels, although there has been an
increased occurrence of shallow (generally) east-dipping
lamprophyre-parallel structures/contacts. These can be persistent
over large distances (>100 m) and usually contain very weak
infillings. Increased jointing and associated poorer conditions
sometimes occur near these structures, requiring systematic
application of meshing as part of the development support.

UNDERGROUND MINING – INITIAL

PRODUCTION
An underground feasibility study was approved by Dominion to
proceed in September 2003 and the portal was cut in February
2004 when the production rate slowed whilst mining the base of
the open pit. Open pit mining was completed in April 2004.
It was during this initial stage that one level was thoroughly
drilled and mapped and the ‘true’ nature of the M1 began to
FIG 7 - Good development practices in extremely good ground ‘unfold’. The narrow, high-grade zones proved to have much
(Q>100) resulting in a high ‘half barrel’ count. more complex geometry than early interpretations had indicated.
Although the new geometry was complex, when projected back
lithologies, with an average uniaxial compressive strength of up into the pit and overlain with the open pit mining blocks the
183 MPa in the granulite gneiss which hosts the gold correlation with high grade was almost exact (Figure 9).
mineralisation.
Stress measurements have been conducted at several sites using
the overcoring method and CSIRO Hollow Inclusion (HI) cells
(Litterbach, 2006, 2008). Additional tests have been conducted
with the Acoustic Emission (AE) technique (Villaescusa and
Machuca, 2008). The results are somewhat different, as shown in
Figure 8 which is a plot of stress magnitudes against depth. To
date, very little stress-related damage has been observed in the
mine other than localised spalling of pillars near the lower stope
abutment. Back-analysis of observed damage using numerical
modelling indicates that the currently-observed behaviour is
consistent with the HI stress field, but work in this area is ongoing.

FIG 9 - Ore blocks defined during open pit mining and comparison
to actual M folded geometry.

With increased confidence in the geometry of the M1, a

number of mining methods were examined initially to deal with
the low plunge angle of the orebody at close to but less than 30°.
Three mining methods had been costed within the underground
feasibility study:
1. inclined room and pillar using a jumbo to mine all ore;
2. sublevel open stoping from a waste horizon below the base
of the orebody; and
3. benching, retreating back to the hinge or fold zone of
the shoots.
Uphole benching was adopted as the most suitable and
profitable method (Figure 10). In addition a cut and fill method
was trialled on the 1055 level. Trial stopes on the 1055, 1040 and
1020 levels revealed that the geological definition of upright limbs
and mining out fold hinges discretely was not only possible but
achievable and highly profitable. A bulk mining approach was
FIG 8 - Stress measurements at Challenger plotted against depth. shown to be uneconomic. To incorporate interstitial waste as

24 Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 Narrow Vein Mining Conference

 THE CHALLENGER GOLD MINE

FIG 10 - Mining method used at Challenger.

planned dilution between all the fold limbs reduced the grade of
the stopes significantly. Below these levels using tight geological
geometry constraints mining has achieved low dilution and close
positive reconciliation.

MINE DESIGN
As understanding of the orebody developed through a program of
careful mapping, sampling and sludge drilling, stope designs
were modified to follow the main M1 orebody geometry more
accurately. Through careful implementation of these designs,
minimal overbreak was achieved.
In exploiting the improved knowledge of the orebody
geometry, it is important that design stope shapes are kept as
simple as possible, avoiding sharp changes in profile and FIG 11 - M1 stope showing clean extraction of the OD1 and OD2
‘re-entrants’. Even in a very good quality rock mass, unduly limbs with the central waste pillar left in situ.
complex stope shapes tend to break back to more simple
outlines. The associated fall-off often occurs as large slabs
which can disrupt production prevent access to broken ore or STOPING
trap equipment.
The consistent orebody geometry has allowed the mine to follow
Ground conditions assessed from drill core and the exposures a highly repetitive mine design, where each level is very similar
in the Challenger open pit indicated that stope voids could be left to the previous one. The focus is to consistently achieve the
open using the uphole bench retreat method, with an allowance development schedule fundamental to achieving the planned
for local pillars to ensure hangingwall spans were kept below a production rate. At a vertical advance rate in excess of 150 m per
nominal design value (hydraulic radius not exceeding 10 m). annum, which has been maintained for over three years, the mine
Waste rock from development below is tipped into mined out is at the forefront of Australian practice.
stopes to minimise waste haulage costs and in some areas The current cycle of mining at Challenger requires ongoing
provides a little passive support. development diamond drilling for each 20 m level to ‘capture’
In practice, much larger stope spans have been achieved the local scale position of the M1 geometry. This allows for
than the original design studies suggested would be possible, adjustments to the development design to approach the M1 shoot
(Figure 11). The initial M1 stope extended down-plunge across the hinge area. Following geological mapping of the cross
(east-west) for a total of more than 500 m, with a maximum cut ore, drives then develop into and mine the main limbs.
north-south span of about 40 m. Once development has been completed, grade control drilling
This is considered to be partly because the arched shape of the using ‘sludge’ openhole percussion is used on 5 m sections to
stopes is naturally stable and the effective span is thus smaller. delineate the cross sectional shape (Figure 12). Each grade
The Stability Graph Method on which the nominal stope spans control section is designed to highlight the M1 geometry and
prior to mine development were based assumes planar stope any variations that may occur. The wavelength and amplitude of
surfaces and does not cater for arched stope shapes. the M1 folds can vary down plunge and parasitic folds can also

Narrow Vein Mining Conference Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 25

P ANDROVIC, P BAMFORD and M SANDY

FIG 12 - Sludge drilling stope definition.

develop and retreat. The M1 geometry is very dynamic and successfully re-established below the pillars, although the
mapping of backs along with each face is critical in not only the potential for further instability if more intrusives are encountered
initial development of the drives but also in the final is recognised. In that case, additional pillars will be designed as
stoping design. required, based on the performance of the current pillars.
The dense drilling is required to ensure that the geometry is
tightly constrained. Holes are designed based upon the DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES AND
extrapolated geology model and hinge zones, limbs, parasitic GROUND SUPPORT
folds are preferentially targeted. Each section will be designed
based upon the attitude of the fold geometry in that position. At Challenger, in many areas the combination of very good to
The sludge drilling uses the production drilling rig, a Tamrock extremely good, generally massive rockmass conditions and
720 Solo with samples taken each half rod, 0.75 m and flushed excellent development drilling and blasting practices has resulted
down a clear hose into a carousel containing prenumbered sample in conditions where surface support is not generally required. In
bags. A mine technician ensures quality control is maintained and the widely-used NGI ‘Q’ system, the conditions described above
that each interval is flushed and a sieved sample is collected in a will plot in the area of the NGI support selection chart that is
chip tray for logging by the geologist. Sample sizes vary between traditionally referred to as the ‘no support’ area.
5 - 7 kg and the entire sample is then delivered to the onsite Lab, In practice, light pattern bolting is used as a minimum standard
dried, split in an automatic crusher and splitter unit allowing a at Challenger where the conditions do not require surface
sample of 500 - 700 g to be assayed in the PAL 1000. The PAL support, to ensure that there is always an allowance of bolts to
1000 is an aggressive pulverising and leaching method of assaying deal with local, isolated structures. A rigorous program of
with a turn around of five hours possible for urgent samples. inspection and check-scaling is in place to ensure that any scats
The scheduling of the sludge drilling is based upon half the that do develop are identified and removed. Mesh is installed by
drilling rate of production drilling to allow for the slower default when:
completion of programs. Programs are scheduled on completion • Less than six ‘half-barrels’ are visible in the backs, or less
of the ore development drives and they may take over a week to than two half-barrels are visible in either wall, per cut.
complete the stope delineation. Turn around from stope modeling
by geologists and mining engineers is within four to five days. • Unusual scaling effort is required to get back to sound rock.
Geological modeling incorporates face sampling and mapping, • A dyke or sill is present in the backs or face (these are
backs mapping, sludge logging data as well as the sludge grade reviewed and monitored for at least five cuts after their initial
control results. Production rings are ready for mark up once the exposure as stress conditions may still be affected by
final mining shape and ring design has been reviewed by both subsequent development at three drive diameters back from
geology and mining a second time. the face).
The main challenge presented to date in stoping has been • A fault or other persistent structure is present in the face or
associated with a lamprophyre sill. This caused significant backs. Similarly these require monitoring for several cuts
hanging wall instability around the 640 mL, at a depth of about after exposure.
550 m below surface. Stope surveys clearly show the influence of
• Conditions are ‘blocky’ (due to the presence of several
the overlying sill, with overbreak profiles exactly matching the
closely spaced joints from two or more joint orientations).
interpreted position of the upper contact (Figure 13).
A series of local pillars was designed to arrest the overbreak. • The operator has any concerns.
The pillar designs were confirmed using numerical modelling to A key factor in obtaining the extremely good development
ensure that they were appropriately sized. Stoping has been conditions seen in Figure 7 has been the application of industry-

26 Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 Narrow Vein Mining Conference

 THE CHALLENGER GOLD MINE

FIG 13 - Stope surveys confirmed that overbreak was strongly controlled by structure.

best drilling and blasting practice, including the use of economic analysis to compare the savings obtained by using the
prepackaged explosives in the perimeter holes in the backs and cheaper explosives against the potential costs if universal
sidewalls. After an initial period of using these explosives, a meshing had to be introduced to effectively manage the more
change was introduced to lower costs using a technique referred damaged ground. There was a compelling case to revert to the
to as ‘snow loading’ with full strength ANFO. Snow loading is a original blasting practices, and this has since occurred. A
technique used in perimeter holes of a development cut, to subsequent resurvey of half barrels in development has
reduce impact on the surrounding ground by partially filing the confirmed that the initial high quality result in terms of visible
holes with ANFO rather than tightly packed. half barrels has been largely regained.
After some experience with the new technique, a study to Wider development spans are assessed on a case by case basis
formally assess blasting results was undertaken by Kieran Rich, for cable bolting requirements. Situations in which cables are
an undergraduate student at Curtin University. A simple count of specified include intersections where an adverse structure may be
‘half barrels’ and partial half barrels were used as a measure of present above the backs, and wide ore drives, where cables may be
the effectiveness of perimeter blast damage minimisation. The required to ensure brow stability during stope retreat. Where
results from these locations are shown in Figure 14. possible, stope blasts are designed to fire through ‘difficult’ ground
in a single blast, to avoid having to re-establish stope brows in
adverse conditions such as close to a lamprophyre intrusion.

SUMMARY
From an initial reserve in 2001 of 110 000 oz of contained gold,
the Challenger gold mine produced 467 408 oz up to 30 June
2008. Challenger has been producing a consistent 108 000+ oz
per year since the start of underground stoping in mid-2005
producing 325 600 oz from 1.18 million tonnes at an average
grade of 9.1 g/t in the three financial years to 30 June 2008 at an
average operating cost of $319/oz.
Recent exploration drilling has shown the main mineralised
structure extends well below the current base of planned mining.
An ongoing stress measurement program, coupled with careful
observation of stress-related damage, is being used with numerical
modelling to assess the likely mining environment at depth.
FIG 14 - Average number of half barrels per cut (after Rich, 2007). In the medium term, investigations are being undertaken into
The 1080, 640 600 and 570 level results reflect the use of ventilation requirements at depth, including geotechnical
prepackaged explosives, whilst those from the 780 and 740 levels investigations for a possible raise bored ventilation shaft.
relate to the use of ANFO and ‘snow’ charging.
Planning continues for the extraction of some of the other
resources at Challenger, including the M2 and M3 series, and
The results confirmed the observation that development wall the M1 ‘Shadow’ zone, all of which have a similar general
damage appeared to have increased since the use of ANFO and plunge to the main M1 series and can be exploited from
snow charging was introduced. Rich also undertook a simple existing infrastructure.

Narrow Vein Mining Conference Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 27

P ANDROVIC, P BAMFORD and M SANDY

Extremely good ground conditions and a low to moderate Litterbach, N, 2006. Challenger gold mine rock stress measurement 780
stress environment have provided generally excellent mining stockpile, Mining Measurement Services Pty Ltd, internal report
conditions at Challenger thus far, Industry-best development Dominion Gold Operations Pty Ltd.
drilling and blasting practices are employed to ensure minimal Litterbach, N, 2008. Challenger gold mine rock stress measurement
wall damage. A strong focus on quality and achieving jumbuck decline 580 external stockpile, Mining Measurement
development schedules has allowed mining to proceed at an Services Pty Ltd, DGO internal report.
average vertical advance of 150 metres per annum, which is at McFarlane, C R M, 2006. Palaeoproterozoic evolution of the Challenger
the forefront of industry practice. Au deposit, South Australia, from monazite geochronology,
J Metamorphic Geol, 24:75-87.
Strict discrimination utilising all available geological data
McFarlane, C R M, Mavrogenes, J A and Tomkins, A G, 2007.
including diamond drilling, grade control drilling, face and backs Recognising hydrothermal alteration through a granulite facies
mapping all contribute to tightly constraining the dynamic metamorphic overprint at the Challenger Au deposit, South
geometry of the Challenger Ore Shoots. With the often rapid Australia, Chemical Geology, 243:64-89.
changes in amplitude, wavelength, parasitic folding and plunge Rich, K, 2007. Challenger half barrels comparison, DGO internal report.
dip and azimuth variations, a geological focus is paramount. Sandy, M P, 2005. Challenger SE zone geotechnical review, AMC
Understanding the folded structural geology, coupled with Consultants internal report to Dominion Gold Operations.
high-grade gold drilling intersections away from the lodes Sandy, M P, 2006. Challenger Gold Mine – Geotechnical Review, January
currently being mined, has led to the development of multiple 2006, AMC Consultants, DGO internal report.
targets of other similar lodes within reach of the existing Scott, B, Machuca, L and Villaescusa, E, 2006. Report on intact rock
underground infrastructure. properties, Western Australian School of Mines, DGO internal report.
Combined with tight blast design and control it is possible to Standing, J, 2003. Update on the nature of the M1 shoot and general
mine out nearly all the ore taking only additional planned geology of the Challenger pit, Challenger gold mine, South
dilution to maintain stability. The ore is constrained entirely Australia, DGO internal report.
within the folded geometry and if this geometry is correctly Standing, J, 2006. Ongoing structural investigations of the M2 Shoot,
delineated then nearly all the metal will be recovered. This is Challenger gold mine, South Australia, DGO internal report.
demonstrated by positive reconciliations with gold produced Tomkins, A G, 2002. Evolution of the granulite-hosted Challenger gold
from the treatment plant. deposit, South Australia: Implications for ore genesis, PhD thesis
(unpublished), Australian National University, Canberra.
Villaescusa, E and Machuca, L, 2008. Stress measurements from oriented
REFERENCES core using the acoustic emission method, Western Australian School
Barton, N, Lien, R and Lunde, J, 1974. Engineering classification of rock of Mines, DGO internal report.
masses for the design of tunnel support, Rock Mechanics, 6:189-236.
Bonwick, C, 1997. Discovery of the Challenger gold deposit – Implications
for future exploration on the Gawler Craton: Case histories of
discovery, in Proceedings New Generation Gold Mines Conference,
Perth, pp 7.1-7.16.

28 Ballarat, Vic, 14 - 15 October 2008 Narrow Vein Mining Conference