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Press, 14 April 1989, Page 1

Grey River Gold Mining’s $2B million dredge at Ngahere on the Grey River, which has struck gold — about 150 ounces so far. Still in the commissioning stage, the dredge recently struck bottom, 21 metres below river level, where the gold reserves are. Grey River gold is estimated at 100 to 120 milligrams to the cubic metre, which is low by international standards, but the dredge is built to a highproduction design and the company considers the gold recovery rate to be satisfactory at this stage, according to Mr Rob Harrison, its information officer. The traditional bucket lines work at the lowest level, under water, and the bulk of the gravel is moved by a suction cutter system. The dredge has moved about 150 metres down river so far, working into an area that has already had its topsoil removed and stockpiled for restoration. Mr Harrison says this will begin about next Christmas. The long-term plan is for the dredge to work all the land between the left bank and the railway line, travelling about 7km downstream over the next 20 years. —Photograph by DAVID ALEXANDER.