Auric Mining (ASX: AWJ) has unveiled a hefty $13.77 million in new gold sales from the latest toll treating campaign at its Jeffreys Find mine near Norseman in Western Australia, with the project’s 2024 total now expected to reach $25 million next month.
The mine has already notched up $18.23 million in total sales this year, with strong prevailing gold price conditions giving the company the opportunity to sell the yellow metal for as high as $3727 per ounce in some instances, for a total of 4973 ounces.
Auric’s contractor and joint venture (JV) partner, Kalgoorlie-based BML Ventures, has so far mined and hauled 154,000 tonnes of ore to the Greenfields Mill in Coolgardie during the current campaign that is set to conclude in the first week of next month.
While unforeseen power outages and poor weather have slowed down the process, management is hopeful that more than 130,000 tonnes of the 150,000-tonne allocation at the mill will get utilised in the current program. Subsequently, the company expects some of the excess ore that has already been delivered will now be processed in its third contracted campaign with Greenfields later in the year, bringing the total to 300,000 tonnes for 2024.
A total of 400,000 tonnes is planned to be mined by BML into early next year, although the remaining 100,000 tonnes is yet to be contracted to a mill for processing.
The current campaign is continuing to produce thousands of ounces of gold. We are in the middle of a highly-successful time for the company. A further campaign is planned at the Greenfields Mill towards the end of this year … the mill contract is to process 300,000 tonnes in 2024, so everyone is focused on making that happen.
Auric Mining Managing Director Mark English
The financial outlook for Auric continues to be strong, with an expected cash inflow of $3 million in the next two weeks from the JV – made up of an initial surplus cash distribution of $2 million and a $1 million repayment of working capital. The cash will add to the $3 million it banked earlier in the year and the $4.7 million in free cash flow generated in the previous first year of the two-year project.
Under the agreement, BML bears all the mining, trucking and milling costs. After the gold is sold, all direct costs are added back before the two companies share the remaining cash on an equal basis. Auric’s portion of the surplus funds are then paid to the company by BML.
The ongoing cash distribution from Jeffreys Find is coming at a fortuitous time for Auric after it sealed a deal with WIN Metals on Tuesday to buy the lithium and nickel mineral rights above 150m at its Munda gold mine near Widgiemooltha in WA’s Goldfields region for $1.2 million. The completed transaction now allows the company to march full-steam ahead with its plans to extract the gold from what it considers its flagship operation.
In a scoping study last year, management outlined plans to open-pit mine between 112,000 and 129,000 ounces of gold across a three to five-year mining campaign and then have it toll treated by a third party at a local mill. With a total resource of 200,000 ounces of gold and grades of more than 2 grams per tonne, as confirmed by recent grade-control drilling, the project is expected to spit out free surplus cash of $76.9 million using a gold price of $2600 per ounce.
However, in efforts to capitalise on today’s Australian gold price that is hovering at more than $3700 an ounce, Auric is hoping to deploy the proceeds of Jeffreys Find as soon as possible to develop a trial pit at site, potentially allowing it to then start mining at the beginning of next year. It means that the projected free cash flow numbers could eventually be substantially higher.
The Jeffreys Find gold mine remains the gift that keeps on giving to the company. And with the gold prices highs showing no signs of abating, expectations will be high that Munda can deliver an equally profitable rinse-and-repeat exercise.
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