On the ground, the company has built a tight, efficient operation around a dry-hire fleet led by a 125-tonne excavator and a pack of four 40-tonne ‘Moxi’ dump trucks, all backed by a suite of support gear. Kalgoorlie-based Total Drilling Services was appointed to run grade control, blast-hole drilling and on-site supervision to keep things moving smoothly and safely.
The maiden campaign is shaping up as a serious cash generator too, with about 6100 ounces of gold expected to roll out of the starter pit by February next year. All-in sustaining costs are forecast at just A$2635 an ounce, setting Auric up for a tidy margin in today’s turbocharged gold market.
When the initial modelling was done around what now looks like a laughably conservative A$3500 gold price, studies suggested a free cash flow of $5.3 million. However, with gold blazing past $6300 an ounce now and almost double the original assumed price, that number could end up a mere warm-up act for what’s to come.
Beyond the strong financial upside, Auric has also pulled off some clever strategic wins. By tackling waste removal at a strip ratio of 7.6 to 1 while prices are sky-high, the company is effectively locking in cheaper ounces for the future. The move trims long-term mining costs and shields the broader Munda project from any future gold price dips.
The starter pit campaign also give the company a valuable read on the geology and economics of the larger system. Every bucket of ore and tonne of overburden is feeding back data that will sharpen the company’s approach when it scales up to the main pit – the next stage in its bid to build a long-life, sustainable gold producer out of the West Australian red dirt.
Auric Mining managing director Mark English said: “This pour represents another big step for the Company and a pivotal milestone in the overall development of our Munda Gold Mine. This also puts us well ahead of schedule and should deliver our first gold revenue from Munda by mid-November. We are extremely happy with how things are progressing at Lakewood Mill.
Auric’s attention now turns to the planning and scoping of its next big prize – the Munda main pit, where the real gold muscle lies. Groundwork is set to kick off in early 2026, with the aim of driving higher production and stretching the mine life, positioning the company for a powerful second act in its Munda growth story.
At 3.65 million tonnes of ore running 1.23 grams per tonne (g/t) for 145,000 ounces of contained gold using a 0.5 cut-off, the main pit already stacks up as a tidy money maker. Loosen the reins to a 0.2g/t cut-off and the resource ballons to 189,000 ounces across the indicated and inferred categories, hinting that there’s still plenty of juice left to squeeze.
When Kalgoorlie-based Minecomp ran the numbers back in 2023, the consultants liked what they saw. Using what now seems a bargain-basement gold price of just $2600 an ounce, their scoping study modelled 1.716 million tonnes at a solid 2.2g/t – enough to churn out an impressive $76.9 million in undiscounted surplus cash flows.
However, in the context of today’s record-breaking gold prices, the real figures start to look nothing short of explosive. What was once a solid, small-scale pit now has the makings of a serious cash machine, with every ounce dug from Munda likely to deliver a bigger bang for Auric’s bottom line.
As the first doré bars cool at Lakewood, Auric’s transformation from junior developer to experienced gold producer is complete. With cashflows about to flow in, costs locked down and gold prices soaring, the company has timed its run to perfection.
The Munda starter pit has delivered proof of concept and the main pit looms as the launchpad for a far bigger and richer chapter in Auric’s story.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
