News

Pantoro has agreed to sell its Halls Creek gold mine in Western Australia to Kimberley Minerals for $8 million, allowing the company to focus on expanding its Norseman gold mine operations.

Under the terms of the binding agreement, the sale payment will be made in tranches over two years. Pantoro will receive $3 million upon finalization, followed by $2 million one year later and another $2 million two years after completion. The company will also retain a one percent royalty capped at $1 million, starting 24 months after the sale is finalized.

Additionally, Pantoro will maintain a 15 percent free carried interest in the nickel and platinum group element tenements at Halls Creek, which will remain in place until the start of production.

The sale follows Pantoro's decision to place Halls Creek, located in the Kimberley region, on care and maintenance in June 2023. Pantoro had operated the mine since 2015.

Pantoro Managing Director Paul Cmrlec said that divesting Halls Creek would enable the company to concentrate on advancing Norseman, which saw a three percent increase in gold production in the September 2024 quarter.

“The Halls Creek project was Pantoro’s first full mine development in 2015 and played a crucial role in the company’s growth,” said Cmrlec. “We believe that now is the right time to focus our efforts and resources on the expansion of Norseman, where we see the most potential for investor returns.”

Cmrlec also expressed well wishes to Kimberley Minerals in furthering the development of Halls Creek and said Pantoro would maintain an interest in its progress through the retained free carry.

Westgold Resources has reported a standout drilling result at the Polar Star lode within its Bluebird–South Junction mining complex in Meekatharra, Western Australia. Positioned at the southern end of a 6.5-kilometer stretch of lodes with a history of open-pit mining, the Bluebird–South Junction complex is set to become the primary ore source for Westgold’s nearby Bluebird processing plant.

In August, Westgold commenced sub-level open stoping on the South Junction lode, aiming to ramp up production to 100,000 tonnes per month by mid-2025. As part of this initiative, the focus has now shifted to the Polar Star lode, where Westgold has achieved its best drilling intercept yet: 13.71 meters at 18.02 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold from 563 meters, including a high-grade section of 5.85 meters at 36.37 g/t gold from 567 meters.

This drilling program, which began in January, has covered approximately 34,525 meters to date. Other significant recent intercepts from the Polar Star and South Junction lodes include:

• 18m at 3.61 g/t gold from 737m
• 13m at 3.65 g/t gold from 385m
• 10.80m at 3.06 g/t gold from 835.30m
• 14.58m at 2.54 g/t gold from 531m
• 5.80m at 4.06 g/t gold from 666m

Wayne Bramwell, Westgold’s managing director and CEO, commented on the progress: “The Bluebird–South Junction mine is rapidly becoming the key growth driver of Westgold’s Murchison portfolio. With intercepts like 13.71 meters at 18.02 g/t gold from the Polar Star lode, we’re seeing a third mining opportunity emerging. The system remains open, and with further drilling, Polar Star has the potential to expand outputs toward 1.5 million tonnes per annum.

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.