The West 45 is the first deposit to be mined by Red River at Thalanga as part of restart operations at the project. Underground mining commenced at West 45 in April 2017, with zinc concentrate production restarting ahead of schedule at Thalanga in September 2017 .

West 45 has an updated ore reserve estimate of 0.6Mt @ 11.6 % zinc equivalent, up from the previous estimate of 0.4Mt @ 15.0% zinc equivalent.

The updated Ore Reserve will allow Red River to extend mining operations at West 45 to at least the end of 2019, enabling the simultaneous operation of both the West 45 and Far West mines from the end of 2018 to 2019, increasing mill throughput for this period.

Following the 21 November 2017 announcement of a maiden Ore Reserve at Thalanga Far West, the updated West 45 Ore Reserve has increased the total Thalanga Operations Ore Reserve to 2.1 Mt @ 11.9 % zinc equivalent.

Increasing Ore Reserves at West 45 combined with the recently announced maiden Ore Reserve at Far West is an outstanding result for the future of Red River , with the potential for further mine life extensions at depth and along strike, said Red River’s Managing Director Mel Palancian.

“We  are committed to growing resources and reserves at Thalanga and this confirms that our strategy is delivering results and mine life,” Mr Palancian said.

“The West 45 mine life will now extend to at least 2019 allowing the simultaneous operation of both West 45 and the Far West mines in 2019 , increasing mill throughput for this period.

“With exploration across our landholding in the Mt Windsor Belt in Queensland continuing in tandem to our mining operations, we hope to make new discoveries that can add further life to Thalanga.”