Auric eyes $4.5M windfall from final Jeffreys Find WA mining campaign
The ore is now being processed at Focus Minerals' Three Mile Hill mill in Coolgardie, tying a bow on Auric's 30,000-ounce total gold target from Jeffreys Find. The final push is projected to generate up to $9 million in surplus cash. Auric's 50:50 share is expected to be between $4 million and $4.5 million.
Under the joint venture, Kalgoorlie-based BML will again carry the mining, haulage and milling costs for Jeffreys Find. Auric says it has already invoiced BML for a $3.6 million interim distribution to be paid in July and August, with final accounting slated for the next quarter.
Auric has closely studied BML's toll treating strategy, as it looks to replicate the joint venture's success and mining practices at its latest and largest flagship Munda gold project, just up the road from Jeffreys Find.
The Jeffreys Find project has been a financial springboard for Auric. With its $17 million war chest from its share of gold sales, the company will now deploy its fully funded mining operation at the 125,000-tonne starter pit, which is already underway at Munda. The initial pit is targeting a minimum 6100 ounces at 1.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from a broader resource at Munda of 3.65 million tonnes grading 1.23g/t gold for 145,000 ounces.
The 145,000-ounce Munda deposit is one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in the Kalgoorlie region, which is a key factor in Auric securing a lucrative toll treatment agreement with mid-cap gold producer Black Cat Syndicate for the Munda starter pit ore.
Black Cat has opened its gates to Auric and will process ore at its currently under-capacity Lakewood mill in Kalgoorlie. Spare capacity is an absolute rarity in the region. The soaring gold price means toll treating options have become notoriously hard to find and the region's mills are reportedly backed up well into 2027.
Auric says its Munda deal will generate more than $28 million in revenue at current gold prices. The deal also benefits Black Cat, slotting nicely into its 'more gold, sooner' strategy in the booming Kalgoorlie goldfields.
Auric's first 40,000t ore parcel from a smaller starter pit is slated for September, with one or two additional campaigns to follow, wrapping up by early next year.
Auric's 2023 scoping study - based on a then $2600 per ounce gold price - projected $76.9 million in surplus cash from Munda's main pit. With gold now trading at nearly double that figure, the financial upside could be staggering for the company as it looks to become a standalone gold producer.
The company recently scooped up the old Burbanks processing plant outside Coolgardie, two prospective leases near Westgold's Higginsville operation and the Lindsay's gold project for $4 million, signalling its ambition to become self-sufficient in the not-too-distant future.
With Jeffreys Finds final gold haul hitting the mill and Munda's starter pit in full swing, Auric looks to be turning its once modest toll-mining plays into fully-fledged standalone Aussie gold production.
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