Drilling underway at two tenements south of Tomingley aims to confirm an explorer's expectation of digging more than a million ounces of gold out of the ground.
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Alkane Resources is seeking to turn "inferred resources to indicated and measured status" at San Antonio and Roswell, with a view to prolonging the life if its Tomingley Gold Operations (TGO) by a decade.
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It has told the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) of the possibility of a "return to open-pit mining and/or underground extension".
Conceptual mine plans are being prepared for the tenements as part of the process of gaining "mining approvals".
For two years Alkane Resources has been exploring the "Tomingley gold corridor" in a bid to find more ore for processing at the TGO which is transitioning from open-pit to underground mining.
This week the multi-commodity miner and explorer announced recent deposit drilling at San Antonio had lifted "Tomingley corridor resources to over one million ounces of gold".
San Antonio and Roswell may be capable of delivering 453,000 and 445,000 ounces of gold, respectively, while underground mining at the TGO and Peak Hill is expected to provide 165,000 and 108,000 ounces of gold.
In an ASX media release, Alkane Resources has told of the continuing exploration program yielding "broad, shallow high-grade intercepts that demonstrate potential for material project life extension in excess of 10 years".
It says a "return to open-pit mining and/or underground extension is possible with appropriate resource confirmation, landholder agreement and regulatory approvals".
Alkane Resources is currently asking the NSW government for approval to conduct an "underground exploration drive" to the Roswell deposit.
It reports of "equipment purchased, personnel recruited and land acquired to facilitate a rapid development once approved".
The TGO's processing plant can take one million tonnes of ore per year.