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Murray Ward
Kaiser Reef has ramped up throughput at its Porcupine Flat processing plant in Victoria, successfully transitioning to a two-shift operation at its Maldon gold project.
The move to 24-hour processing from Monday to Thursday marks a savvy strategic shift as the company looks to cash in on the current record-breaking gold environment.
By doubling capacity with only a minimal increase in personnel and costs, Kaiser expects to significantly lower its processing cost per tonne. The plant is currently fed by the Union Hill low-grade stockpile, comprising 566,000 tonnes at 0.48 grams per tonne of gold (g/t). The material is expected to sustain continuous processing through to 2030 at a steady rate of 10,000 tonnes per month.
The company says the expansion should move the Maldon operations towards being near self-funded, providing much of the capital needed for deeper exploration into other high-grade targets.
‘Maldon represents a district-scale gold opportunity for Kaiser.’
Kaiser Reef managing director Brad Valiukas
Kaiser is also continuing to make small-scale ore purchases to supplement the primary feed as the company prepares for the next phase of underground development.
The operational ramp-up comes as the company finalises preparations for the refurbishment of the Union Hill underground, including stripping the decline where necessary.
The work has also established a northern access drilling platform at Union Hill North, which Kaiser says should offer the perfect vantage point for the drillers to test previously identified high-grade spur veins in untouched sections of the Eaglehawk and Ladies reefs.
Kaiser Reef managing director Brad Valiukas said: “Maldon represents a district-scale gold opportunity for Kaiser, with numerous historical mines and lines of working that remain substantially underexplored, despite having historically produced an enviable 1.75 million ounces of gold at 28g/t.”
While Maldon scales up its Victorian footprint, the company’s flagship Henty gold mine in Tasmania continues to act as the primary engine room. In the most recent March quarter, the operation generated a stellar $14.28 million in net operating cash, boosting the company’s total cash reserves to a hefty $45.6 million.
Kaiser’s cash “war chest” has been bolstered by a global surge in gold prices, which have climbed more than 40 per cent year-on-year to reach around A$6,420 per ounce.
During the quarter, the company sold 5561 ounces from its dual-state operations at an average realised price of A$6,296 per ounce of gold, underscoring its ability to leverage its newly unhedged position in a high-priced market.
Back in Victoria’s historic Golden Triangle, the company is preparing for a fresh drilling blitz after completing recent soil surveys and permitting for the next set of targets.
Kaiser is eager to start drilling at its Nuggetty South prospect, specifically targeting a promising 170m gap along the strike. This site has already yielded impressive results, including a 3.4m intercept at 34g/t gold, highlighted by a bonanza 0.35-metre stretch at 187.5g/t and another hole 470m south of the main shaft that returned 4.3m at 11.2g/t gold.
Additionally, drilling will target the “West Lode,” a newly identified shallow-plunging zone. Kaiser says it’s looking to replicate the historic success of the Nuggetty Reef, which produced 301,000 ounces of gold at a massive 187g/t during the late 1800s.
The company also plans to launch airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys in the June quarter to identify new targets across its broader tenement package.
With the processing handbrake now released at Maldon, its Henty operation delivering steady cash flow and a massive A$45 million cash pile to keep the exploration wheels turning, Kaiser looks set to make a big splash in the Victorian goldfields this year.
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