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Brought to you by Bulls N’ Bears
Doug Bright
Auric Mining has tied a golden bow around its maiden mining venture, banking a final $2.2 million cash distribution from the company’s Jeffreys Find gold mine, near Norseman in Western Australia.
The final payment, received yesterday, has wrapped up Auric’s 50:50 joint venture with Kalgoorlie-based BML Ventures, delivering the company a whopping $16.5 million return on its initial $1.2 million punt.
All in all, not a bad way to sign off on a first mine.
Jeffreys Find has now officially run its course, after the final toll milling campaign treated 60,000 tonnes through the Three Mile Hill Mill at Coolgardie.
‘Jeffreys Find has been an absolute game changer for Auric, accelerating our transition from explorer to producer.’
Auric Mining managing director Mark English
Since mining kicked off in May 2023, the open pit has delivered 633,302 tonnes at a head grade of 1.58 grams per tonne (g/t), with metallurgical recoveries averaging 92 per cent.
All up, 29,534 ounces of gold were produced and sold to the Perth Mint at an average realised price of $3763 per ounce, for total sales of about $82 million, excluding GST.
Under the deal, BML Ventures funded and managed the mining, haulage and processing, with surplus cash split evenly after direct costs were deducted. With the final cheque now cleared, Auric says all matters tied to the joint venture are complete.
Better still, the company’s first foray into mining at Jeffreys Find has left Auric with plenty of firepower for its next chapter.
Auric Mining managing director Mark English said: “Jeffreys Find has been an absolute game changer for Auric, accelerating our transition from explorer to producer. The receipt of this final $2.2 million distribution represents a robust closing result for the company from our maiden mining venture.”
As of yesterday, the company’s cash, bullion, and listed investments stood at $43 million. Auric’s Jeffreys Find proceeds are already helping to underwrite development at its Munda gold mine, 5km from Widgiemooltha in WA’s Eastern Goldfields.
The sign-off at Jeffreys Find has coincided neatly with the completion of Auric’s 125,000-tonne Munda starter pit, which was mined at an average grade of 1.8g/t gold. The operation delivered in spades, producing 8475 ounces of gold– a cracking 40 per cent above earlier forecasts.
The small-scale prelude to the much larger Munda Main Pit, which hosts a 189,000-ounce resource at a 0.2g/t cutoff, has helped swell Auric’s cash and bullion pile.
The kitty has also been supercharged by surging gold prices, with Munda ounces fetching almost double the price achieved at Jeffreys Find as bullion continues its ferocious run.
Armed with a bulging war chest, Auric is now setting its sights on developing Munda’s main pit. If the company can replicate the slick execution seen at Jeffreys Find and the starter pit, the next chapter could prove even more lucrative for the WA gold hopeful.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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