Vertex Minerals has initiated the first blast for a trial longhole open stope at its Reward gold mine in Hill End, New South Wales, Australia. The trial aims to compare productivity and cost differences between mechanised longhole mining and conventional mining methods. The trial stope is located in the high-grade Mica 1 lode, with an expected diluted average grade of approximately 8 grams per tonne of gold from 1,200 tonnes of ore.