News

Ramelius Resources has made key advancements at its Mt Magnet project in WA, especially at the Eridanus site. Drilling highlights included 18m at 9.53g/t from 42m and 4.6m at 48.3g/t from 67.5m, reinforcing the exploration pipeline alongside high-grade results from Lena at Cue and Crescent-Kopai.

An open-pit target at Eridanus is set between 12–16 million tonnes at 1.2–1.6g/t, projected to yield 575,000–775,000 ounces of gold. Ramelius is also assessing a Mt Magnet mill expansion to three million tonnes per year to boost capacity and cut costs.

Quarterly gold production reached 62,444 ounces at an AISC of $1,965 per ounce, dropping to $1,589 per ounce when excluding a non-cash component. Early mining at Cue stockpiled 35,359 tonnes of high-grade ore, with haulage to Mt Magnet starting in early November, anticipating a production boost in Q4.

Vault Minerals reported a strong September quarter, its first since merging Red 5 and Silver Lake Resources, producing 97,493 ounces of gold and marking the sixth consecutive quarter with over 50,000 ounces from Red 5’s former operations.

The company sold 102,529 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $2,231 per ounce and an average sale price of $3,162 per ounce.

Vault invested around $30 million in exploration, discovering high-grade Deflector-style mineralization southwest of the Deflector South-West lode, supporting further potential in the area. Deflector operations set a record quarterly mill throughput with 30,591 ounces of gold and 188 tonnes of copper.

The King of the Hills (KOTH) open pit increased material movement by 10 percent, with stage two stripping accounting for 58 percent of the total. This keeps Vault on track to access primary ore zones by the second half of FY25.

Vault is advancing plans to expand the Leonora plant to six million tonnes annually, with investment approval expected by early FY25. The company ended the quarter with $523.4 million in cash and no debt.

IGO's Greenbushes lithium operation in Western Australia demonstrated strong results in the first quarter of the 2024–25 financial year (FY25), achieving solid production levels and stable cash flow.

Despite softened commodity prices and decreased nickel revenues, Greenbushes surpassed expectations, showing a quarter-on-quarter increase in spodumene production.

"Operational performance at Greenbushes has been robust, with quarter-on-quarter production growth," said Ivan Vella, IGO's managing director and CEO.

"Greenbushes’ productivity has not only reinforced IGO’s position but also laid a strong foundation for long-term growth, in line with our strategic goals through to 2035."

While fluctuations in lithium and nickel prices impacted financial outcomes, IGO's focus on operational efficiency maintained resilience.

"Safety performance is a priority across our operations," Vella added. "The team is implementing targeted improvements and enhancing safety engagement to achieve sustained safety progress throughout this financial year."

With a cash balance of $259 million and $720 million in undrawn debt, IGO’s balance sheet remains strong, supporting continued investment in its core assets.

Looking ahead, IGO is also preparing for a planned shutdown at the Kwinana refinery, aimed at further boosting performance in the second quarter of FY25.

"Despite challenging market conditions, IGO remains in a solid position with a refreshed strategy and a restructured corporate and exploration team aligned with our purpose," Vella said.

"Following the end of mining activities in September, we have transitioned Forrestania to care and maintenance as planned, marking the end of over 20 years of successful operations. We are proud of its legacy and grateful to everyone who contributed to this mine over the years."

Forrestania Resources has secured a ‘drill for equity’ agreement, preparing for its inaugural drilling campaign at the Bonnie Vale Gold Project in Western Australia. The company will kick off a 21-hole, 1,600-meter reverse circulation drilling program at the Ada Ann Prospect this week.

Topdrill, the drilling contractor, will receive part of its payment in shares from Forrestania, reflecting a growing trend where junior explorers offer equity in exchange for drilling services to maximize their exploration budgets. Topdrill has entered into similar arrangements with other explorers this year.

John Hannaford, Forrestania’s Chairman, announced that this is the first of several planned drill programs at Bonnie Vale, with Ada Ann, a high-grade target, being the primary focus. “We are excited to have secured a rig from Topdrill, who has consistently supported our efforts. Their willingness to accept shares as part payment underscores their belief in our project,” Hannaford said.

The drilling, set to begin on October 23, will explore extensions of known mineralization both to the north and south, as well as test deeper zones. Additionally, the program will assess a potential new mineralized zone near historic drill spoils, where previous assays returned grades as high as 49 grams per tonne of gold.

Forrestania is exploring for gold, lithium, and copper across the Eastern Goldfields, Forrestania, and Southern Cross regions. The Bonnie Vale Project, located in the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt within the Yilgarn Craton, is part of Forrestania's broader portfolio, which spans 11 exploration licenses and four applications covering a total of 1,000 km². These tenements are largely non-contiguous, scattered over a 300 km stretch along or adjacent to key greenstone belts.

estwork on International Graphite’s Springdale graphite project in Western Australia has delivered promising results for the company.

Micronising and spheroidising (milling) testwork explored various process circuit options, resulting in two spheroidised graphite products – SpG18 and SpG11 – with yields reaching up to 76%.

Purification testing achieved an impressive 99.99% yield, surpassing the industry standard of 99.97% for high-purity anode material.

David Pass, International Graphite’s technical director, noted, “The testing aimed to optimise milling processes to boost output. The results are very encouraging and suggest there’s considerable potential to exceed the projections of our initial scoping study. The purification findings confirm that Springdale graphite meets the purity levels required for producing active anode materials.”

Andrew Worland, International Graphite’s CEO and managing director, added that the purified SpG sample will be used in upcoming coating tests and to refine process flowsheet development and equipment selection for battery anode material production.

“These outcomes mark a significant milestone in our mine-to-market production strategy and demonstrate that our fully-owned Springdale Mineral Resource is a crucial asset for the rapidly growing lithium-ion battery anode market,” Worland said.

He emphasized that the expertise gained from the company’s research and development facilities in Collie is playing a pivotal role in shaping its downstream flowsheet, which will further advance feasibility studies for battery anode production.

Auric Mining Limited (ASX: AWJ) has announced the successful completion of its second gold milling campaign for 2024, generating significant revenue from the Jeffreys Find Gold Mine near Norseman, Western Australia.

Gold from the mine has been sold at the Perth Mint for an average price of A$3,697 per ounce, marking another profitable milestone for the company. The ore processing, conducted at the Greenfields Mill, is part of a contract to process 150,000 tonnes of ore, undertaken by Auric’s Joint Venture partner, BML Ventures Pty Ltd of Kalgoorlie.

As of mid-August, nearly 129,000 tonnes of ore have been delivered to the Greenfields Mill. The current milling campaign, which spans approximately six weeks, is set to conclude in early September 2024. Auric Mining has also revealed plans for additional milling campaigns in November and December at the same facility.

Looking ahead, BML Ventures is preparing to mine up to 400,000 tonnes of ore into early 2025, with a contract already in place for the processing of 300,000 tonnes at Greenfields Mill.

To date, all gross revenue from this campaign has been retained by BML to cover the costs of mining, haulage, and milling. Auric Mining is expected to receive $3.0 million within the next month, including $2.0 million as an initial surplus cash distribution from the Joint Venture and $1.0 million for the repayment of working capital contributions.

The Joint Venture agreement positions BML as the operator of the Jeffreys Find Gold Project, responsible for all mining and operational expenses. Following the sale of gold, direct costs are subtracted before the remaining profits are split equally between the partners.

Auric Mining has committed to providing regular updates on the progress of gold processing and sales as they occur.

De Grey Mining has unveiled new data indicating further expansion of its highly anticipated Hemi gold project in Western Australia.

Drilling at the Aquila and Crow deposits, located in the northern region of the Hemi project, shows promise for enhancing the Hemi mineral resource estimate (MRE) and strengthening the production profile outlined in the company’s definitive feasibility study (DFS).

The Aquila-Crow intrusive body now extends up to 1 km east-west and 0.7 km north-south. Initially, it was thought to pinch out at depth below Aquila, but more recent interpretations suggest the intrusive continues deeper.

“Drilling beneath the DFS pit shells and below the current mineral resource at Aquila-Crow demonstrates that a large mineralized system extends to depth and remains open,” said De Grey's General Manager of Exploration, Phil Tornatora.

Additionally, the nearby McLeod lodes, high-grade lodes in the southeast of the Crow deposit, exhibit different characteristics from the bulk of Hemi’s mineralization. These lodes are generally associated with smoky quartz veining with visible gold.

“The McLeod lodes in the south of Crow continue to return high-grade intercepts, and it is exciting to see similar style mineralization persisting in deeper holes below Aquila,” Tornatora added. “This extension drilling has strong potential to enhance the Hemi MRE and support conceptual studies for potential future underground mining.”

Earlier this month, De Grey announced securing over $1 billion from commercial banks and government agencies for Hemi’s development. This funding followed promising drilling results from Hemi, including extended mineralization at the Eagle deposit, which extends 200 meters down plunge and remains open at depth and potentially along strike.

Spartan Resources has released a significant update to the mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Dalgaranga gold project in Western Australia.

"This MRE update firmly establishes Dalgaranga as an exceptional high-grade deposit, featuring an underground resource of 1.44 million ounces (Moz) at a grade of nine grams per tonne (g/t) gold," stated Simon Lawson, Spartan’s managing director and CEO.

Lawson emphasized the update's significance to the company’s reputation in the mining industry.

“The delivery of this landmark MRE update marks a pivotal moment in our journey and solidifies the high-grade Spartan brand on our key project at Dalgaranga,” he remarked.

“The Spartan team has transformed a struggling low-grade open-pit gold miner into a highly successful high-grade exploration, discovery, and development operation.”

Since its recapitalization in February 2023, Spartan has established itself as a highly investable gold mining and development company, consistently adding value for shareholders, Lawson noted.

“Since its discovery in mid-2022, the high-grade Never Never gold deposit has consistently delivered some of the most impressive drill intercepts seen in the Australian gold sector in years,” he said.

The new results were achieved through a rigorous and effective drilling strategy, combined with the team’s extensive experience in interpreting, modeling, and estimating high-grade gold resources, Lawson explained.

“This resource will support our maiden underground ore reserve, which is currently underway and scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2024,” he added.

In addition to the Never Never deposit, Spartan recently announced the discovery of the high-grade Pepper gold deposit. Located adjacent to Never Never, Pepper has added a maiden high-grade underground inferred mineral resource of 0.43Moz at 7.66 g/t gold.

Given its proximity to the development of the Never Never deposit, Pepper has become the drill team’s top priority for in-fill and extensional drilling throughout the second half of 2024, Lawson said.

“The combined underground MRE for Never Never and Pepper is 1.8Moz at 8.65 g/t gold,” he stated.

The Dalgaranga gold project’s total mineral resource estimate now stands at 16.1 million tonnes (Mt) at 4.79 g/t gold, representing a 90 percent increase in grade and a 45 percent increase in ounces from the previous estimate.

“Our journey has just begun, and we are eager to see what our team can deliver once the drill drive is in place,” Lawson concluded.

Despite a decrease in rare earth production, Lynas Rare Earths remains on track with the ramp-up of the Kalgoorlie facility in Western Australia.

In the June 2024 quarter, Lynas produced 2,188 tonnes of total rare earth oxide (REO) and 1,504 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr). Lynas Managing Director and CEO Amanda Lacaze attributed the production decrease compared to the previous quarter to "essential maintenance" activities at Lynas Malaysia.

"During the June quarter, the ramp-up of the Kalgoorlie facility continued, and the first shipment of mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) was dispatched to Malaysia," Lacaze said. "While production volumes remain low as processes are stabilised, the ramp-up is proceeding according to plan."

Mining operations resumed at Mount Weld during the quarter. Under a five-year mining services contract awarded in March, Carey Group Holdings subsidiary Carey Mining began removing waste material above the orebody. Carey Mining also brought a new fleet of equipment, including a PC1250 excavator and 785 haul trucks from Komatsu, to the site.

"Mount Weld delivered efficient production of concentrate during the quarter," Lacaze said. "Trucking of concentrate to the Kalgoorlie facility commenced using Lynas' new 'rotainer' container system, which uses half-size containers and mechanical lifting to minimize manual handling requirements at Mount Weld and Kalgoorlie."

Construction activities for the Mount Weld expansion project continued, with Stage 1 (concentrate dewatering) complete and commissioning expected to be finished by the end of September. "The new concentrate dewatering circuit has been integrated into the existing plant. Once commissioned, it will debottleneck the current operation while the remainder of the new plant is constructed," Lacaze said.

"Construction of Stage 2 is ramping up, and the tailings storage facility is now under construction. The balance of Stage 2 (plant construction) is expected to be completed by the end of FY25. Commissioning activities for Stage 2 will progress concurrently with construction as individual circuits are completed."

Lynas ended the quarter with $136.6 million in sales revenue and $117.5 million in sales receipts, reflecting the lower average NdPr price of $US46/kg ($69).

Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals have reported impressive gold production results as they head into the 2024–25 financial year (FY25).

Evolution Mining

Evolution Mining achieved a 14 percent increase in gold production during the June 2024 quarter, producing 212,070 ounces (oz) of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1275/oz, which is 13 percent lower than the previous quarter. The company recorded a remarkable 171 percent increase in quarterly group cash flow, rising from $85 million to $230 million. Additionally, Evolution saw a 74 percent increase in quarterly net mine cash flow, reaching $242 million, equivalent to $1170/oz.

The Cowal gold mine in New South Wales set a new production record, producing 94,826oz during the quarter. Evolution's managing director and CEO, Lawrie Conway, highlighted the strong performance, stating, “We had an outstanding June quarter with sector-leading cash generation and low costs which showcase the quality of our portfolio.”

For FY24, Evolution generated $367 million in group cash flow and $583 million in net mine cash flow, producing a total of 716,700oz of gold and 67,862 tonnes of copper at an AISC of $1477/oz. Cowal achieved record annual gold production under Evolution’s ownership, producing 312,644oz in FY24 at an AISC of $1338/oz. Conway noted, “We achieved multiple records at an operational level, and I am particularly pleased that June was the strongest month of the quarter, which builds momentum moving into FY25. This result is a credit to our team.”

Genesis Minerals

Genesis Minerals, while accelerating its growth strategy, produced 34,617oz at an AISC of $2698/oz during the June quarter. This brings Genesis’ FY24 production to 134,451oz at an AISC of $2356/oz, meeting its FY24 guidance of 130,000–140,000oz at an AISC of $2300–2400/oz.

Genesis managing director Raleigh Finlayson described the quarter as highly successful, stating, “We met both production and cost guidance while laying the foundations to accelerate our organic growth strategy. This is designed to ensure we achieve our 325,000ozpa (per annum) production target and reduce AISC to $1600/oz ahead of the FY29 date contained in our five-year plan.”

During the June quarter, Genesis processed 10,562 tonnes (t) of third-party ore from its Leonora operations in Western Australia under its short-term ore purchase agreement with Linden Gold Alliance. Surface ore stockpiles from Leonora awaiting processing increased to about 314,000t under Genesis’ first 12 months of ownership, aligning with the company’s long-term strategy to “future-proof” the business.

On May 1, commercial production commenced at the Admiral open pit, located approximately 40km from the Leonora mill in WA. Finlayson stated, “We have successfully established a very large inventory which underpins forecast production of 3Moz (million ounces) over 10 years. We now want to unlock more of its value sooner to capitalize on this enviable position and the buoyant gold price. By accelerating our self-funded organic growth strategy, we can drive rapid growth in free cashflow generation, creating greater shareholder value in the process. We are very pleased with the way the pieces of the Genesis jigsaw are coming together.”