The final stages of commissioning have begun on the 10m diameter Shaft 2, which has been sunk to approximately 1.3km below the surface.

The shaft is a critical piece of infrastructure and will enable a step-change in terms of delivering the underground mine. Shaft 2 can carry 300 people per cage cycle versus a maximum of 60 people per cage cycle through Shaft 1. The 48t capacity cage can now be used to support logistics, transporting supplies and components for the development of the mine.

Stephen McIntosh, group executive, Growth & Innovation said: "This is an important milestone because Shaft 2 significantly improves overall productivity of the underground development and allows us to move more material, equipment and people between the surface and underground. We have made very good progress in the past few months and completing Shaft 2 provides additional momentum as we move towards a definitive estimate for the development of this world-class ore-body in the second half of 2020."