The plan includes a four-month drilling campaign, investigations into underground development and a scoping study targeted for completion in the March quarter of 2015.

The company said it would use two diamond rigs and one reverse circulation rig for the 12,200m campaign which is designed to determine the best mining method and to achieve the best recovery rates at the project.

The former Woodlawn mine processed 13.8 million tonnes at 9.1% zinc, 3.6% lead and 1.6% copper from the late 1970s to the late 1990s.

Heron acquire the shuttered project in its recent merger with TriAusMin and expects to re-start mining initially via the Woodlawn’s former underground workings and exploitation of a tailings retreatment project.

Underground operations are expected to benefit from significantly reduced capital investment due to the availability of existing excavations and infrastructure.

The tailings component of the project, meanwhile, is expected to process about 11Mt of tailings produced by the former Woodlawn mine.

A feasibility study is expected to be delivered within an 18-month time frame.

Heron said that a recent decision by North American asset management firm Sprott to buy BHP Billiton’s 10.4% stake in the company provided additional market endorsement for the project.

TriAusMin said it was going to reopen Woodlawn in May last year after the discovery of a new high-grade zone returning a 32m intersection at 4.6% zinc, 1.8% copper and 1.2% lead.

This intersection included 9m at 16.1% zinc, 2% copper and 4% lead.

Resources at the project currently stand at 8.6 million tonnes grading 10.3% zinc, 4% lead and 1.8% copper, indicated.

Indicated resources for the tailing retreatment project are 9.4Mt at 2.3% zinc, 1.4% lead and 0.5% copper.

Woodlawn is 30km south of Goulburn and 220km southwest of Sydney.

Shares in Heron were last trading 9.4% higher at A17.5c.