January - March 2023 VOLUME 1. ISSUE 150
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MINER OF THE YEAR
West African Resources
EXPLORER OF THE YEAR
De Grey Mining
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ISSN 1324-4396 439005
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GOLD MINING JOURNAL (ISSN 1324-4396)
Published by Paydirt Media Pty Ltd.
A.C.N. 063 985 133
EDITORIAL
Editor:
Dominic Piper
Deputy editor:
Michael Washbourne
Journalists: NEWS 10
Fraser Palamara, Yvette Ogilvie Two new pieces have been added to the Leonora consolidation jigsaw with
Kin Mining raising the stakes in the bid for control of the embattled Dacian
Art director:
Nick Brown Gold, and former Western Areas boss Dan Lougher taking the reins at St
Barbara. Dominic Piper takes a look at what the moves mean for the future of
Contributors: one of Western Australia’s premier gold districts, including the potential knock-
Keith Goode, on effects for Raleigh Finlayson’s newest vehicle Genesis Minerals
Brendan Ryan (Johannesburg)
COVER 18
ADVERTISING
Advertising manager: Market darling De Grey Mining has regained the prestigious GMJ Explorer
Richa Fuller of the Year crown, while Richard Hyde’s West African Resources Ltd
has gone back-to-back in the Miner of the Year category. De Grey added
Subscriptions: almost 3 moz of indicated resources to its burgeoning gold inventory in the
Vidy Suastika last 12 months, while West African defied two presidential coups in Burkina
Faso to emerge as the gold industry’s leading producer yet again. Our
PAYDIRT MEDIA journalists reflect on the year that was for the winners and other finalists,
Executive chairman: including comments from GMJ’s expert judging panel
Bill Repard
Finance manager: AFRICA 36
Giovanny Jefferson Michael Washbourne’s visit to Senegal with the emerging Chesser
Resources headlines our special coverage of the African gold sector. With
Accounts/administration:
revered wheeler and dealer Mark Connelly as chair and Senegalese football
Anjali Mediratta
legend Salif Diao providing crucial in-country support, Chesser is turning
CONFERENCES heads with its Diamba Sud project. We also touch base with seasoned
Angelique Julien explorers Mako Gold and Turaco Gold in Cote d’Ivoire, and find out why
Melita Fogarty Toubani Resources is making the switch from the TSX-V to the ASX
Paula Fujita
PRE-PRESS AND PRINTING:
Vanguard Press
26 John St, Northbridge WA 6003
Member of: Cover image: West African Resources executive chairman Richard
Hyde and De Grey general manager Phil Tornatora
CONTACT US
Suite 9, 1297 Hay St, West Perth, p: (+61 8) 9321 0355
Western Australia 6005 f: (+61 8) 9321 0426
P.O. Box 1589, West Perth, e: [email protected]
Western Australia 6872 w: www.paydirt.com.au
EDITORIAL
Gold still unremarkably
remarkable
t was a long time The mid-tiers have been even more hampered by cost
Iago, but I remember inflation and although they still enjoy wide margins by long-
in my early days as a term standards, investors have marked them down for being
GMJ reporter being unable to expand them further. This is the nature of the
shocked and excited speculative end of capital markets; if you are not constantly
by the enthusiasm and surprise of my much older colleague growing production, increasing margins and promising to
as we saw the Australian gold price hit $400/oz. become bigger and better, investors lose interest.
He couldn’t believe the spot price had reached such giddy It is the same in the exploration space. As our GMJ award
heights and was certain we were at the start of an Aussie panellists discuss in this issue’s cover story, there have been
gold boom. some impressive exploration results in the last six months,
It is remarkable then, that as we enter 2023 with an but investors are just not listening.
Australian price of more than $2,600/oz, the general feeling Not only have explorers been hurt by an investor malaise,
in the Australian gold mining space is one of confusion and they are also struggling by comparison. In late 2019, De Grey
uncertainty. Mining Ltd made a discovery which has proven inspirational
What should be boom times for the sector, feels more like to the entire gold exploration industry, but it has also set a
the end of a cycle. True, the ride ASX gold equities enjoyed bar which is basically unreachable for most other explorers.
for the six-year period from 2014 to late 2020 was among the Investors are comparing every new discovery to De Grey’s
most remarkable in history, Australian miners benefitting from Hemi, but that is a generational asset and any other find
several factors pushing in their favour; an upward trending would only pale in comparison.
gold price, investors who were still punishing North American In these circumstances, explorers would usually find support
gold companies for their previous avarice and a relatively from larger gold miners but given their current travails, they
weak Australian dollar which helped cost structures. are in no state to offer scrip or even cash for acquisitions.
The emerging mid-tier miners played a brilliant hand with The outlook couldn’t be tougher, but again I will remind you
the cards dealt, attracting an international shareholder base that the Australian gold price is at record highs.
which eventually allowed them to become genuine world- So, what can we expect to change in 2023?
class operators.
Perhaps the natural cycle of market sentiment will provide
Behind them, companies which only a few years ago would’ve relief. Gold has been overshadowed by lithium and other
been considered junior miners now boasted multibillion battery minerals over the last 18 months and while supply/
market caps, pushing them to hunt further growth. demand in that sector appears set for decades of imbalance,
The Australian gold price steadily climbed during this time, investors’ attention spans rarely hold for that long.
from $1,406/oz in January 2014 to $2,570/oz in January 2020. An international gold equity renaissance could also provide
Despite a slight slip over the course of summer 2020/2021, support. Barrick Gold Corp recently reopened a Perth
this ascendency has continued, with the price sitting above office with rumours they are considering a bid for De Grey
$2,600/oz at the end of 2022. and having been usurped by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd in the
This, then, should be the period when these miners – with acquisition of Yamana Gold Inc, Gold Fields Ltd is cashed up
their strong balance sheets, upwardly mobile production and looking for options.
profiles and supportive share registers – reap the rewards of So, despite the glum feeling around Australia’s gold sector
high prices. at the end of 2022, if we squint hard enough, we can see the
Instead, the opposite happened in 2022. The lower tier miners greenshoots of a 2023 recovery.
have struggled with costs, exposing the marginal nature of
the lower grade orebodies they acquired in search of more
ounces.
[email protected] @Paydirt_Media @paydirtmedia @PaydirtMediaAustralia
Page 4
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BOOK REVIEW
More trailblazing adventures
and discoveries
he second Andrew Drummond-edited book of exploits of He encountered the “third lane” culture where wealthy
Tgeologists (mostly), generally in their younger days, is not Laos could drive on roads at great speed to the detriment of
only fascinating reading but again has brought back others, creating major accidents including vulnerable
memories for this very senior journalist. motorcyclists. There were also challenges on
More Rocks In Our Heads brings out more tales developing infrastructure with entrepreneurs
by geologists including chapters from some taking inadvisable short cuts.
who missed a berth in the preceding Rocks Anthony Williamson was a strode venturer
In Our Heads. who helped mining development in
Many of the writers are well known to this PNG, spent time in Japan, Indonesia,
reviewer but none of these events had I Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar and
heard of being involved with on my global Mongolia where he was re-acquainted
travels in the Pacific, South-East Asia, with Kalgoorlie’s Doug McGay and his
China, former Soviet Union, Arab nations, future wife Oggi.
Sub-Saharan Africa or the Americas. There were adventures and learning arcs
One Andrew Drummond account shows visual Linda Frewer in all countries, including a polite death threat
beauty but snail-paced processing for exploration in Manila, geologists being lost crossing river
in New Zealand – a malaise that hasn’t changed, torrents, big snakes in Sulawesi and encounters with
while Sandy Moyle’s time in Papua New Guinea saw him political insurgents.
rubbing shoulders with some of Australia’s great explorers who Ralph Stagg’s Middle Eastern escapades included Tunisia
developed mines like Lihir Island but also showed how unique where he met with a promising young generation dealing with
the indigenous culture is, sometimes with nasty consequence. a dictator Ben Ali who ordered a general to shoot at protestors.
Moyle’s airport experiences with travel moves from familiar The general refused and that led to Ben Ali flying to sanctuary in
luggage problems, to missing seats to hairy helicopter rides and Egypt with family and treasure.
knowledge of tragic chopper crashes in Enga Province for the Linda Frewer, who had set up a diamond sample processing
Porgera project. laboratory in Perth, was lured by a client to Venezuela where the
Roger Marjoribanks’ period in Bougainville was during the rivers were considered piranha country but encountered dense
high times for copper-gold mining on this island but detailed jungles and military-excised areas on the Rio Venamo close to
the seeds of discontent between Bougainvilleans and the Port the Brazilian border.
Moresby Government that led to Rio Tinto Ltd She found the main danger there not to be
having to halt production and leave. jaguars, but old pits filled with muddy weather
Ian Plimer had a unique time in Vanuatu, feted flush with ground level. Diamonds were
by leaders on the basis of evaluating a 38kg encountered, not just with sampling but also
ruby that supposedly would end the country’s dealing with local gold and diamond seekers,
financial woes, providing it was worth $240 some of whom had underwater gear.
million that an entrepreneur indicated. Plimer Phil Fillis provided the final chapter with his
identified it was not remotely close to this hair-raising flights in Africa in old Russian
value and as he had to file a technical report to crates. With only formative pilot training, he
Vanuatu Customs, he decided as being the found himself having to fly an injured girl in
bearer of bad news he would head back to South Africa to hospital – night flying with a
Australia before filing it. girl, her worried mother, a local doctor and too
Ian Mulholland, in setting up Rox Resources Ian Mulholland much equipment.
Ltd, went to Laos looking for zinc in the footsteps Like Andrew Drummond’s previous book, More
of Oxiana and Pan Australian and encountered the challenges Rocks in Our Heads is a must for all those in the resources sector.
of an impoverished company and language barriers, recalling
Ross Louthean, foundation editor of Paydirt, who recently
landing at Vientiane international airport which was a single
co-wrote Doug McGay’s biography From Paddy Hannan to
concrete runway amid rice paddies.
Gengis Khan
Page 6
Battery metals could charge
gold exploration
by Dominic Piper
hile many gold explorers continue to reinvent themselves “Some explorers are still gold stalwarts but for shareholders,
Was critical minerals players, identifying pegmatites or you have to assess all the options,” he said.
rare earths mineralisation could allow those eager to stay in Turning to hot commodities doesn’t necessarily mean
gold an opportunity to reinvigorate their plans. abandoning gold entirely. Instead, sentiment could be used
Last year saw a flurry of gold explorers declare lithium, nickel to avoid dilution. Haese pointed to Breaker Resources NL’s
and rare earths discoveries as they chased investors who divestment of its remaining 20% interest in the Manna lithium
drifted from the traditional precious metal to the more exotic project to Global Lithium Resources Ltd for $60 million as a
battery minerals space. prime example.
Some have benefited immensely from the switch. Prior to mid- “If you have the ability to monetise non-core assets, you
2022, Dreadnought Resources Ltd hadn’t broken through the should consider it,” he said. “Breaker played a blinder through
5c/share barrier since 2014 but after the company announced the Manna deal and have money for their gold exploration with
the discovery of rare earths on its Mangaroon project, the no dilution.”
market took interest, sending shares up to a high of 15.5c.
Kalgoorlie-focused explorer Alchemy Resources
Ltd enjoyed a similar breakthrough in April when Metres drilled vs Expenditure. Source ABS
it announced first lithium assays from its Karonie
project.
Even newly established gold miner Calidus
Resources Ltd referenced the company’s Pirra
lithium project when raising $20 million in August.
The interest came as relief to many gold explorers
who found conditions tough in 2022, with investors
displaying little interest in anything but the best
gold exploration results.
The dearth of market support was laid bare in
quarterly reports. Research by Argonaut showed
exploration expenditure remained flat in the
September quarter but analyst Royce Haese said
it was likely actual activity had reduced.
“Having spoken to companies and analysed the
June quarterlies, I was expecting the exploration
Gold explorers found it tough in 2022 and will be hoping for
spend to wind back, but instead it has stayed flat,” Haese told
greater investor support this year
GMJ. “So, many companies are talking about reduced activity
and drillers are telling us they have spare capacity for the first
time in two years, which likely means increased costs, not a With share prices depressed and capital tight, gold explorers
surprise in this market.” could soon come under pressure to execute corporate
Haese said he expected activity to reduce further in the transactions. Haese said much would depend on the
December quarter as explorers conserved cash to avoid performance of the gold miners in the next few reporting
dilutive capital raisings. periods.
“I don’t envy the position some companies are in, trying to “The producers don’t have spare cash and their paper is not at
maintain relevance and momentum but every capital raising the highs of 2020, so they are not wanting to do scrip deals,”
means more dilution,” he said. “It is a difficult balancing act.” he said. “But they need to invest in exploration so will have to
make a move at some point. I think we can expect that when
Hence why companies such as Alchemy and Dreadnought
the flood gates do open it will be pretty rapid.”
have turned to on-trend commodities.
Haese said it was a sensible option for dynamic explorers.
Page 7
NEWS
Chaney names skills strains
by Fraser Palamara
lthough Northern Star Resources Ltd was able to meet its “This, I think, highlights the need for the board and
Aproduction guidance for FY22, chairman Michael Chaney management to be constantly focused on the long term and
said COVID-19 created difficulties in keeping staff on the not to be too distracted by short term fluctuations or demands,”
ground. Chaney continued. “It is providing superior long-term returns to
Speaking at Northern Star’s November AGM, Chaney said shareholders that drives us.”
it was an “understatement” to describe the past period as The past year has seen Northern Star make changes to its
challenging for the international gold miner. board, including appointing Rio Tinto Ltd senior executive
“The skill shortages facing resource companies in Western Marnie Finlayson as non-executive director.
Australia as a result of booming commodity prices have More creatively, Northern Star unveiled a $15 million retention
been well publicised and understood but this situation was plan in October which would take place over the next three
exacerbated during the year by the continuing COVID-19 financial years. The scheme was brewed to spend excess cash
pandemic,” Chaney told shareholders. “With many in our in keeping executives and management within the company.
workforce catching the virus or being forced to isolate,
absenteeism became a big management issue.”
Northern Star sought to remedy employment woes by
splashing cash at its over-achieving workers, but the company
soon found itself battling other hurdles thrown from left of field.
“We responded to this challenge by offering financial
incentives to our team to work additional shifts, resulting in
higher wage and salary costs; but our other costs rose as well,”
Chaney said. “International events – in particular the war in
Ukraine – resulted in huge rises in the price of essential inputs
like steel and diesel, along with supply-chain bottlenecks and
shortages.”
Despite such challenges, the ASX50 company was able
to post $1 billion in cash earnings, $1.5 billion EBITDA, and
$430 million in statutory NPAT. The company dished out an
increased $250 million in dividends to shareholders.
Northern Star was also undertaking a $300 million share
buyback scheme at the time of print. Michael Chaney
“The board concluded this was the most efficient way of
deploying excess capital at the present time,” Chaney Northern Star shareholders voted to approve a $1.8 million
explained. “I would hope this move sends a strong message; pay packet for managing director Stuart Tonkin leading up to
namely, that we are genuinely driven by our primary objective the AGM. Awarding Tonkin the 230,000 retention rights was
of providing superior returns to our shareholders.” conditional on the director staying with the company until late
On the production front, Northern Star met its guidance of 1.55- 2025 and to continue meeting financial guidance.
1.65 moz gold at AISC $1,465-1,575/oz. While the company’s Although shareholders overwhelmingly gave the thumbs up to
share price has grown close to 9% on the year, Chaney said Tonkin’s slice of the retention pie, up to a third of responding
he was feeling “frustration” due to an investor market driven by voters opposed the motion. Chaney attributed this rivalling
“short-term emotion rather than by fundamentals”. to retail investors who often resist giving large pay sums to
“During the last 18 months when the actual gold price in executives.
Australian dollars has consistently been in the mid-$2,000/oz On the horizon, Northern Star is seeking to commission the
[range], our share price has fluctuated by as much as 40%,” Thunderbox mill at its Yandal operations to push production
he said. to 600,000 ozpa gold while increasing production at its Pogo
Over the past year, Northern Star’s share price experienced operations – in Alaska – to 300,000 ozpa. For FY23, Northern
peaks as high as $11.48/share and valleys as low as $6.75/ Star has laid out a production guidance of 1.56-1.68 moz at
share. AISC $1,630-1,690/oz.
Page 8
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NEWS www.ddh1.com.au
M&A bubbles to
Leonora surface
by Dominic Piper
he Leonora gold consolidation jigsaw has two new pieces
Tto fit with the arrival of Kin Mining NL onto the Dacian Gold
Raleigh Finlayson
Ltd register and Dan Lougher into the managing director’s
chair at St Barbara Ltd.
“Kin has acquired a strategic holding in Dacian to ensure
The future of Leonora appeared set in stone just a few months
it has the ability to participate in a meaningful way in any
ago as former Northern Star Resources Ltd executive Raleigh
future consolidation, while also ensuring that available
Finlayson laid out his intentions for new vehicle Genesis
milling capacity is appropriately utilised,” he said in an ASX
Minerals Ltd with an audacious bid for struggling miner
announcement.
Dacian.
“Kin considers that the 3 mtpa Mt Morgans treatment plant…
Under Finlayson’s leadership, explorer/developer Genesis
is a strategically valuable asset that will play an important
has raised $120 million, much of which is dedicated to funding
role in the inevitable consolidation of the Leonora district.
a turnaround at Dacian and its Mt Morgans gold mine, as well
Kin welcomes the initiation of the consolidation activities by
as fund development of its own Ulysses project in the Leonora
Genesis in its successful bid and achievement of majority
district.
ownership of Dacian.
Following that, Finlayson made his wider intentions known,
“The region has an oversupply of milling capacity with around
aiming for a nil-premium merger with St Barbara, which has
9 mtpa available and a shortage of immediately available
continually struggled to address problems at its flagship
mining inventory. Kin believes [its] deposits have strategic
Gwalia mine in Leonora while it battles to get its Simberi
value in the region with the potential to provide near-term mill
(Solomon Islands) and Atlantic (Canada) projects on an even
feed which could assist Dacian as a bridging source of ore
keel.
while it advances its longer-term strategy.”
The Genesis offer for Dacian appeared to be going smoothly,
By November, Kin had accumulated a 7.34% holding in
with the company reaching 75.5% ownership in September.
Dacian, enough of a blocking stake to complicate Genesis’
However, by October, acceptances had stalled, forcing the
plans.
company to declare its scrip offer of 0.0843 shares for every
Dacian share its best and final terms. Genesis has stuck to its guns with new chairman Tony
Kiernan using the company’s AGM to reinforce the logic of
Genesis’ path was further muddied in September when Kin
its intentions.
– which owns the 1.4 moz Cardinia project in the district –
started buying Dacian stock. Kin managing director Andrew “Earlier in the year, the new team unveiled our ‘open for
Munckton was very clear about his company’s desire to buy a business’ strategy, with the vision to build a premium
seat at the Leonora consolidation table. Australian gold miner,” Kiernan said.
Page 10
www.ddh1.com.au
Dan Lougher
The Gwalia mine is one of the Leonora district’s most iconic but has
struggled in recent years
“The first step towards achieving our new vision was made in his initial assessment, saying at Atlantic the focus was on
in July 2022 when we announced a takeover bid for Dacian obtaining key permits, while at Simberi plans wouldn’t be
Gold. The natural pairing of Genesis’ organic growth and cemented until a strategic review was complete.
high-grade Ulysses project with Dacian’s large-scale mill and If Lougher is successful in changing fortunes at Gwalia – the
exploration upside makes compelling strategic sense. operation produced 34,078oz gold at $2,487/oz AISC in the
“There is high investor appetite for sensible regional September quarter – the company could be willing to deal.
consolidation, and the world-class Leonora/Laverton district “There are potential synergies through sensible consolidation,”
is a natural fit for our company.” St Barbara chairman Tim Netscher said at the company’s
Further disruption came, however, in November when St AGM in October. “St Barbara has a commanding mineral
Barbara disposed of chief executive Craig Jetson in favour of endowment in the region, but with limited processing capacity.
former Western Areas managing director Lougher. On the other hand, others in the region have large processing
Lougher, an underground mining specialist, has been given a capacity with lower mineral endowment. Marrying the two is
simple remit – turn performance at Gwalia around and find the a capital efficient option compared to St Barbara building the
best value solution for both Simberi and Atlantic. capacity, especially in the current inflationary environment.”
In his opening remarks, Lougher was forthright about the The Leonora situation remains delicately poised between the
challenge in front of him, saying his immediate focus would be ambitious and upwardly mobile Genesis desperate to trade
on operational performance at Gwalia and the development of its way into processing capacity and damaged miners Dacian
St Barbara’s “ample” Leonora regional gold ounces. and St Barbara eager to turn around their fortunes to avoid
selling out too cheaply.
On the company’s other assets, Lougher was more pragmatic
DDH1
Page 11
NEWS Jake Klein
The importance
of mining
Ernest
by Fraser Palamara
volution Mining Ltd’s decision to take outright ownership
Eof Ernest Henry paid off with the Queensland gold-copper
SUBSCRIBE NOW
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mine proving to be a silver lining for the company in an otherwise SUBSCRIBE NOW
disappointing FY22.
Evolution fell short of operational delivery for the financial year, Australia’s Paydirt Gold Mining Journal Both magazines
producing 640,275oz gold at AISC $1,259/oz. While chairman
(Up to 10% for 24 month option) 12 months 24 months 12 months 24 months 12 months 24 months
Jake Klein lamented the miner’s “challenging” period, Ernest
Henry did exactly what it was supposed to do: lower group AISC. Within Australia q $A140.00 q $A250.00 q $A50.00 q $A100.00 q $A180.00 q $A350.00
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class asset in Australia and one which we already knew of rapidly rising risk. This is most evident on the geopolitical front
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“The acquisition delivered an immediate and substantial
increase in cash flow generation, lowered our AISC and has “Central banks are trying to combat record inflation levels with Name: ...........................................................................................................................................................................
clear growth potential.” quantitative tightening and higher interest rates. A stronger
US dollar and the Federal Reserve’s aggressive monetary
Evolution’s peers have typically experienced AISC of more than Company Name: Position:
tightening, particularly since June, have until recently been a .......................................................................... ..................................................................
$1,400/oz over past financial periods. Such saved costs in FY22
key headwind for the gold price whilst inflation has concurrently
helped the company achieve the second highest statutory net
put upward pressure on costs.” Postal Address: ............................................................................................................................................................
profit after tax in its history at $323.3 million with an EBITDA
margin of 44%. Gold spot prices saw success earlier in 2022, peaking above
$US2,000/oz through March, but later falling to nearly $US1,600/ Postcode: .................................. State: ......................................... Country: ..................................................................
Operating mine cash flow sat at $893.3 million before sustaining
oz in November.
and capital investments of $606.4 million.
Evolution’s own share price experienced pain throughout the Phone: ....................................... Email: .........................................................................................................................
Evolution assumed full control of Ernest Henry after paying $800
last 12 months, falling nearly 35% on a yearly basis. November,
million to Glencore plc over the past year, with an additional
however, did see the company’s shares rally back by nearly PAYMENT METHOD ................
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30%. Klein remained bullish on gold’s near term fundamentals.
The focus has now turned towards growing Ernest Henry. The EFT Name: Paydirt Media Pty Ltd Bank: ANZ Bank Branch: West Perth
“Looking forward though, the outlook for gold is stronger with the
company recently grew gold resources at the mine by 24% to 2 BSB: 016 498 Acc: 8371 62319
Fed expected to ease interest rate increases within 12 months
moz and copper resources by 28% to 1.13mt. These estimates
as inflation reduces and the global economy is expected to slow International SWIFT Code: ANZBAU3M *Please quote company name
were made following the completion of nearly 200 drill holes.
significantly,” he said.
Klein said mineralisation continued to impress as the company Post Cheque Payable to: Paydirt Media Pty Ltd PO Box 1589, West Perth, Western Australia 6872
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AISC of $1,240/oz, while in FY24, the company seeks to maintain
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AISC for even larger production guidance of 800,000oz.
Reflecting on Evolution failing to meet operational guidance,
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NEWS
Ramelius on the rebound
by Michael Washbourne
perational stability and improved market conditions have 210,000-230,000oz, has been completed. Capex for property,
Opersuaded Ramelius Resources Ltd to release a three- plant and equipment has been priced at $767 million with
year production outlook for the first time in its history. estimated AISC of $1,200/oz.
Less than six months since Ramelius managing director Mark Zeptner said a decision on whether the company progresses to
Zeptner was left to bemoan the increasing cost of wages, diesel a PFS on the Hill 50 underground would be made in the coming
and consumables across the West Australian gold sector, the months.
company has confidently published production forecasts for “Before we progress to a PFS, further work is required to convert
FY24 and FY25, having already guided 240,000-280,000oz at this exploration target to mineral resources and ideally upgrade
AISC of $1,750-1,950/oz for this financial year. the inferred mineral resources to the indicated category,” he
C
Ramelius also expects its AISC profile to reduce significantly said. “This will either be completed through surface drilling and Charging ahead with Australia’s critical minerals industryharging ahead with Australia’s critical minerals industry
over the next three years, estimating unit costs will fall within the deep diamond holes, or through the rehabilitation of the decline
range of $1,500-1,700/oz in FY24 and even further to $1,400- to a deeper position, followed up by underground diamond
1,600/oz in FY25. This decline has largely been attributed to an drilling.”
increasing contribution of the high-grade, low-cost Penny mine Zeptner described the Symes Find project at Edna May as
towards total group output. “small but relatively lucrative” with recent RC infill drilling helping
Speaking on an investor conference call to discuss the three- to lift resources to 1.4mt @ 1.7 g/t gold for 75,000oz, while a
year outlook, Zeptner suggested there was more to the reducing scoping study indicated capex of just $4.5 million with AISC of
AISC profile than the newly minted Penny mine. $1,650/oz attached to the 500,000-600,000t @ 1.8-2.2 g/t gold
“As one of our analyst friends put it, we are getting a sugar hit for 32,000-40,000oz production target.
from Penny in the next few years, but that probably underplays Additional mining lease applications and approval processes
the excellent work that has been done elsewhere to bring new are under way for Symes Find, about 110km by haul road from
projects into production and keep the processing plants at both the Edna May mill.
Mount Magnet and Edna May as full as possible,” Zeptner said. “The majority of the resources at Symes Find are located on
Ramelius has guided group production of 250,000-290,000oz granted mining leases, but we are applying for some additional
for both FY24 and FY25. The company also expects to spend tenure that will host supporting infrastructure and expenses of
about $145 million on capital projects over the next three the main pit,” Zeptner said.
financial years. “Detailed hydro and geotechnical assessments are under way
The three-year outlook excludes the Stage 3 open pit at Edna and contractor pricing will be chased up shortly.”
May and the Hill 50 and Eridanus undergrounds at Mt Magnet, Ramelius chief financial officer Tim Manners said the three-year
and the Rebecca greenfields exploration project near Kalgoorlie. production outlook further strengthened the company’s balance
Mining contractor pricing for the Stage 3 open pit at Edna May sheet and there were no plans to apply any further hedging.
was to be received and assessed during the December quarter, “I suppose the only point we would make is that the hedging
with all other key sections of the PFS complete and a decision would be there to supplement and add value to Stage 3,”
on development status to be taken thereafter. Manners said.
“According to the mine plan schedule outlined in 2021, “If it’s the hedge book, for example, that got Stage 3 across the
meaningful production from Stage 3 is not required until 2026, line, then I think we would be doing it for the wrong reason. It has
which is obviously outside the three-year plan timeframe,” to be able to stand on its own two feet with cost assumptions
Zeptner said. and gold price assumptions that we typically use across the
A scoping study on the Hill 50 underground, incorporating business. If we can add value by strengthening that with a
a production target of 880,000-960,000t @ 7-8 g/t gold for project-specific hedge, we would certainly look at it.”
To present, exhibit or attend as a delegate please contact Paula Fujita
on (+61) 8 9321 0355 or email [email protected]
Page 14
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NEWS
Ryan ready to Rox n’ roll
by Michael Washbourne
ew Rox Resources Ltd managing director Robert Ryan
Nis confident Youanmi can thrive as a standalone mining
operation, as he prepares to take the 3.2 moz project down the
potentially lucrative pathway of gold concentrate sales.
Ryan has wasted no time strengthening the development case
A scoping study has indicated that Rox can revive operations at the
for Rox’s flagship asset since being promoted from his previous Youanmi gold mine for just $134 million
non-executive role in late October, orchestrating a $5 million
capital raising just weeks after the company published a robust
“From the test work we’ve conducted to date at Youanmi, it
scoping study for a 71,000 ozpa operation at Youanmi, 480km
shows the arsenic in the gold concentrate will be sub-2%, which
north-east of Perth.
we know is going to be in significant demand on the global
The study found a combination of gold-in-concentrate and market, especially when it looks to be going into China, where
CIL bullion production from Youanmi was the “optimum”
a lot of the import regulations don’t allow gold concs over 6% in
commercialisation strategy for initial cash flow generation. arsenic.
Capex for the proposed open pit and underground operation
“There is a large amount of what we call dirty concentrate
and accompanying 480,000 tpa processing infrastructure is
produced in the global market, but that doesn’t have a natural
priced at $134 million, with payback to be achieved after three
home unless it’s blended down with clean concentrates, and so
years.
that’s where Youanmi will fill a niche and why we expect there
Other key financial estimates were cumulative EBITDA of $577 will be significant demand for the Youanmi concentrate.”
million over the eight-year project life, undiscounted free cash
The immediate focus for Rox is converting more of the Youanmi
flow of $418 million, pre-tax NPV of $303 million and IRR of
resource to indicated status. Some 21% of the material
45%.
considered in the recent scoping study was classified as
Asked by GMJ if the outcomes of the scoping study confirmed inferred.
Rox would pursue development of Youanmi as a standalone
Ryan expects the company will finalise a PFS within 12 months
operation, Ryan replied: “100%”.
before moving into DFS mode. The study phases will likely be
“When you look at the scale of the resource being over 3 moz,
supported by additional exploration to lift the total resource base
it’s got the backbone of a really strong production centre,” he of the project.
said. “Then, if you look at the current mine plan, at 480,000 tpa,
Rox is set to receive a further cash injection of $3.8 million to
I think if we can upscale that by 10-20%, we will start seeing a
fund its ongoing activities at Youanmi after declaring its intention
significant increase in overall production from the project.”
to support Kinterra Battery Metals Mining Fund LP’s proposed
A mining engineer, Ryan most recently guided Bardoc Gold takeover of spin-out company Cannon Resources Ltd.
through feasibility studies on its namesake gold project,
Ryan said the company would also progressively run the ruler
followed by offtake negotiations for the proposed concentrate
over the other assets in its portfolio, including the adjoining
production prior to the company’s acquisition by St Barbara
Mt Fisher and Mt Eureka projects, which host a combined
Ltd for $150 million. He has already observed some striking
187,000oz @ 1.65 g/t gold resource following a recent upgrade.
similarities between the Youanmi and Bardoc projects, in
particular mineralisation styles and the quality of the potential “Mt Fisher has the potential for quite a large resource base,
it’s got a lot of high-grade supergene mineralisation there,
concentrate parcels.
and where you do get these big and rich zones of supergene
Concentrate production accounts for 12% of global gold output
mineralisation, you tend to have a feeder system somewhere
and is becoming more common practice for processing of
close by,” he said.
refractory orebodies. Ryan believes it is a lucrative segment of
“We think there’s quite large exploration potential in that Mt
the precious metals market.
Fisher area, however, it is a semi non-core asset, so we’ll
“The biggest area of demand is gold concentrates that are low
continue to either progress it through exploration or we’ll look to
in arsenic,” he said.
monetise it through a potential sale.”
Page 16
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Case histories of discovery
The world’
The world’s pre-eminent s pre-eminent
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gold exploration event
Perth,
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www.newgengold.com
14 - 15 November 23
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Jointly organised by:
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For all enquiries about exhibiting or attending please contact Angelique Julien
on (+61) 8 9321 0355 or email [email protected]
COVER: MINER OF THE YEAR
West Africa remains king
of the miners
by Fraser Palamara
Jurisdictional superiority was named as a
key factor behind West African Resources
Ltd (WAF) winning its second consecutive
GMJ Miner of the Year Award,
an achievement which also marked a
three-peat for West African miners.
AF emerged as the winner, narrowly ahead of another West
WAfrican gold producer, Perseus Mining Ltd. Canaccord
Genuity (Australia) senior mining analyst Paul Howard, who sat
on the judging panel, argued African miners weathered the storm
that was 2022 better than their overseas cohorts.
“I think it has been easier to come across as having had a better
2022 if you are African-focused, because diesel has been
subsidised over there and you don’t have a workforce who is
jumping ship for [higher pay],” he said.
“I think your costs are a bit more stabilised because of the diesel
and the labour issues that have been faced in other places such
as Western Australia. So, you’re already off to a better start if
you’re in Africa in 2022.”
Such praise contrasts with the traditional stigma African miners
have faced, including risks of political coups and project
expropriation. While not all African miners came out of 2022
unscathed – Malian gold producer Firefinch Ltd infamously fell
to its knees – WAF managed to keep its Sanbrado gold mine
in Burkina Faso within guidance, despite a change in military
leadership during September.
WAF rounded out the year with Sanbrado producing up to
240,000oz with AISC as low as $US1,100/oz. The miner, which
boasts a $1.17 billion market cap, was showing no signs of pulling
back in Burkina Faso, having also acquired the Kiaka gold project
to enhance its operating portfolio.
A year of success for WAF contrasted heavily with a litany of
hurdles thrown at the way of the world’s resources industry,
including disruptions to fossil fuel supply – an effect largely from
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Howard said these difficulties varied
for “broadly geographic” reasons.
“The ones who are making cash are Perseus and WAF,” he said.
“Putting on my banking hat, those are the ones we want to be Richard Hyde
around.
Page 18
Burnett said making proper use of what was at your
disposal was a layup for gold miners looking to stay
relevant.
“Some of these are really quick, easy wins,” she said.
“You didn’t have to engineer it, you just have to be in
a country that supports it.”
Howard, again putting on his “banking hat”, mused
gold miners would have to compete over more
progressive metrics than just AISC.
“We measure companies on AISC, why don’t
we have CO2 emissions per ounce of gold in the
quarterly reports?,” he asked. “We’re trying to educate
Kristie Young ourselves, at Canaccord we say, ‘what other metrics
can we be looking at?’. It’s not just production.”
Similar to last year’s judging discussion, the other
“I think it’s been a hard year for gold miners. The haves and the
side of the ESG coin – social governance – reared its head as
have nots, and it’s broadly geographic.”
Burnett and Young tracked the gender diversity of gold miners’
Global economic inflation and securing low-cost fuel stood as board and senior staff.
chief among issues for miners trying to keep costs down the Burnett said the large mining companies were more progressive
past year, but pressures similarly continued to mount in retaining
in their hiring as they often had more eyes on them.
skilled staff. This also compounded with new waves of COVID-19
spurring absenteeism among workers.
ChemX Materials Ltd non-executive chair Kristie Young said gold
miners now had to compete with battery minerals developers
becoming more attractive to workers due to their role in the
battery-powered future.
“In terms of humans and where they want to work, there’s definitely
been a shift in wanting to do things that are more meaningful, not
just in mining but across the board,” she said.
“I think that’s reflected in the fact salaries are quite high and
people have choice, therefore they say, ‘actually, I want to do
something more meaningful than something that might not be as
Paul Howard
meaningful’. It might not be a deliberate move away from gold, it’s
probably the pool around doing something for the world.
“There’s an expectation of ASX200 companies,” she said. “It’s
“During the energy transition, it has been more attractive to work
naming and shaming that’s causing the behaviour to change.
in something where you’re doing something for the world.”
Below them, the behaviour doesn’t often change because they
Howard concurred, pointing to the fact historical gold towns such
can get away with not doing anything.
as Kalgoorlie and their greater regions are now hosting breakout
“WAF has one woman on each side of management. Meanwhile,
battery minerals stories in rare earths, lithium and nickel.
Perseus is the most diverse as they have four women out of 12
“We believe Kalgoorlie is no longer just a gold town, where
people.”
everyone works for a gold company,” he said. “There’s
Since the judging panel had convened, WAF increased the
competition with the likes of Lynas [Rare Earths Ltd] building its
gender diversity of its board by appointing Robin Romero as
rare earths processing facility and a number of new lithium and
an independent non-executive director, and elevating non-
nickel developments popping up in the region.”
executive director Elizabeth Mounsey to executive director of
Regis Resources Ltd non-executive director Lynda Burnett did
human resources.
not oppose these points but suggested the clever gold miners
“The talent pool is there, there needs to be a bigger pool of
were managing to adapt.
women directors and the way you get that is people starting to
“The gold miners are putting in an effort to be sustainable…
mentor and sponsor young people and women, more people
they’re doing everything they can to be that good corporate
into those director roles,” Burnett continued.
citizen. There’s a lot you can do at operations, you can use solar
“If you’re a junior, it’s easy to say, ‘we need people with
power, for example,” she said.
experience, we don’t want to train anybody, I don’t have time to
There certainly are opportunities for African developers to get
train someone, let’s hit the ground running’. But you reap what
innovative, including the likes of iron ore developer Genmin Ltd
you sow.”
locking in renewable hydroelectricity for its Baniaka project in
Gabon.
Page 19
COVER: MINER OF THE YEAR
West African beefs up
Burkina base
by Dominic Piper
andemics, security issues and gold price fluctuations; Strong execution at Sanbrado now means more than just
Pyou would suspect West African Resources Ltd had improving the bottom line, it is making WAF’s growth plans
taken shareholders on a wild ride since starting production easier to bring to fruition.
in early 2020, however a brief glimpse at quarterly reports Late last year, the company announced the $US100 million
show the opposite is true. acquisition of the Kiaka project from B2Gold Corp. Hyde said
Since pouring first gold on the day much of the world cashflow from Sanbrado would enable WAF to put together
descended into lockdown, West African (WAF) has barely a superior project financing package for the 7.7 moz project.
missed a beat at its Sanbrado gold mine in Burkina Faso, “Obviously, the more money you make through Sanbrado,
regularly posting production increases and supressing the easier it will be to finance Kiaka,” he said.
cash costs the envy of every gold miner on the ASX. The
In August, WAF released a positive feasibility study for
September quarter saw the company produce 49,396oz @
Kiaka – 45km south of Sanbrado – showing the project could
$US1,197/oz AISC, keeping the company on track to hit
support a 7 mtpa operation producing an average of 219,000
2022 guidance of 220-240,000oz at less than $US1,100/oz
ozpa over 18.5 years.
AISC.
Hyde said WAF would combine a high-quality orebody
For executive chairman Richard Hyde, it is a case of boring
with its experienced development team to deliver a project
being good, as he continues to lead the now two-time GMJ
capable of catapulting it towards the plus-400,000 ozpa
Miner of the Year to success free of disruption.
category.
“Last year was always going to be the best because we had
“We will leverage off our experience in country and the
high-grade open pit and underground mines operating but
technical people we have there,” he said. “We are pretty
this year, everything is still tracking to guidance, and we
confident we can push it to 300,000 ozpa.”
believe we will hit the mid-range of production and the upper
If the project is so good, how did a single-asset producer get
end of cost guidance for 2022,” Hyde told GMJ. “We did see
some increased costs in the quarter – fuel and explosives in its hands on it for just $US100 million?
particular – but we are happy with the performance.” “The reality is Burkina Faso isn’t perfect and if it was, we
Executive chairman Richard Hyde often talks about the close-knit
family at Sanbrado. Here he is with some of the on-site team.
Page 20
Page 20
wouldn’t have had this opportunity,” Hyde
said. “But we are experienced operating
there, we understand the risk and can
make the most of the opportunity.”
With the feasibility study complete, WAF
has set out on the financing journey for
Kiaka. Hyde said the debt landscape
has shifted since the company arranged
Sanbrado’s financing in 2018.
“The market has changed in the last few
years, there are a lot more African banks
and investment funds interested,” he
said. “That is kind of refreshing because
it means we don’t have to start every
conversation talking about the jurisdiction, The last 12 months have seen West African Resources pull high-grade ore from both open
they get it and they have a mandate to pit and underground sources
invest in projects in developing countries.
Those options weren’t there in 2018.” Sanbrado, returning 25m @ 3.9 g/t gold from 1m, 6m @ 15.6
The other recognisable change is the increased emphasis g/t from 48m, 15m @ 5.2 g/t from 19m and 21m @ 2.2 g/t
on ESG. Hyde said WAF had always strongly performed from 51m.
in the social aspects of ESG but was also finding greater “We are doing a lot of exploration around Sanbrado and
opportunity on the environmental front. MV3 is already shaping up well, it will be a nice satellite open
“Decarbonisation is a key element in the financing process pit,” Hyde said. “In fact, we will bring that deposit forward in
and one of the reasons we are looking at grid power,” he the mine plan and delay Toega because it doesn’t require a
said. “The grid is a lot more stable in West Africa now and pre-strip. The plan is to progressively add satellite targets to
Ghana is producing much more than its own requirements the production profile. We have a lot of targets and will start
from hydro and gas which has 50% less emissions than doing more near-surface exploration next year.”
diesel. Most of Burkina Faso’s grid power comes out of For Hyde, the discovery of MV3 demonstrates how much
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, where it is generated via hydro worth Sanbrado and other West African projects offer.
sources. Where WAF and Perseus Mining Ltd have enjoyed smooth,
“Ultimately, we are making these decisions on environmental uninterrupted ramp-ups of their West African operations,
and commercial conditions which shows just how much the the domestic scene has witnessed a string of development
power situation has changed.” failures.
One negative aspect which has arisen since 2018 is It is a factor he believes many investors do not recognise.
stretched logistics chains. Hyde said the company was “I think the major contrast between West Africa and Western
conscious of delayed schedules and had moved to secure Australia is in the quality of the orebodies,” Hyde said.
long-lead items earlier in the development process. “In West Africa, they are generally better. If you look at
“We are putting the mill orders in now which is much earlier Sanbrado, Kiaka or [Perseus’] Yaoure, they are high-quality
than normal,” he said. “Even in that process, we had a variety assets all of which would rate higher if they were in WA.
of bids within which there was a wide range of manufacturing “WAF and Perseus are the two best gold producers on
availability. That became a decisive factor.” the ASX but if you compare us to domestic producers, we
The entire process should be completed by early 2023 with still trade at a massive discount,” he said. “Most investors
construction already beginning on site ahead of a mid-2025 perceive geopolitical risk as the highest risk, when really
first gold pour. they should be looking at project risk primarily, which far
Kiaka will complement but not completely overshadow outweighs jurisdictional risk. Too many of the projects being
Sanbrado. The foundational asset still has 13 years of developed in WA should not be standalone projects. MV3 is
200,000 ozpa production in front of it but the company is a good example of that. It is a nice deposit but wouldn’t be a
confident those figures will be extended in coming years standalone operation in WA, it probably would be developed
thanks to an ambitious near-mine exploration programme. as one.
The September quarter provided the first major evidence of “Yes, there is risk in West Africa but we have proven we can
success with drilling on the MV3 open pit target, 6km from manage it and perform successfully.”
Page 21
COVER: EXPLORER OF THE YEAR
“It comes back to the team and their work on the ground,” she said.
Full-throttle Miramar Resources Ltd executive chairman Allan Kelly agreed that
De Grey’s success could be traced back to the exploration team.
Hemi leaves the “What was the change that made De Grey work? I think it was
good, boring old-fashioned exploration work, which goes back to
the exploration team of Andy [Beckwith], Phil [Tornatora] and Allan
rest for dust [Kneeshaw],” he said. “It has been about generating good data and
recognising something a bit different and being persistent when the
market is not supporting you.”
De Grey’s year was exceptional from an exploration and development
by Dominic Piper viewpoint. The company added 1.6 moz gold to the overall Hemi
resource, taking it to 8.5 moz gold in less than three years, and also
added 3 moz of indicated ounces, lifting that category to 5.8 moz. It
ollowing a tough year for the ASX gold explorer club, it was two
also produced a maiden reserve of 5.1 moz which was to form the
F recognisable names which most impressed the GMJ panellists,
backbone of a robust PFS, released in September.
with De Grey Mining Ltd edging out last year’s Explorer of the Year
“Not only is De Grey up for the year – a rarity among gold explorers
Predictive Discovery Ltd for the 2022 title.
– but it has succeeded in answering those early Hemi sceptics,”
De Grey has received numerous gongs in the three years since
Cannacord Genuity (Australia) senior mining analyst Paul Howard
the discovery of the Hemi deposit on its Mallina gold project in the
said. “There was understandable scepticism because it was so soon
Pilbara, Western Australia, and while the GMJ judges would’ve
after the watermelon seed gold conglomerate rush in the Pilbara and
been happy to shower another company with the Explorer of the
it was something very different, so it caught everyone by surprise.
Year award, they couldn’t find an exploration year to compare to De
But they have answered all of that scepticism now.”
Grey’s phenomenal 2022.
Where Predictive slightly underwhelmed the market with its first
“You don’t want to give De Grey another award, but it is undeniable,”
resource update – posting a 600,000oz increase in August to take
Regis Resources Ltd non-executive director Lynda Burnett said.
the global resource at its Bankan project in Guinea to 4.2 moz – De
Burnett’s reluctance to give the company another gong was Grey continued its habit of surprising to the upside.
tongue-in-cheek because she also admitted its was right to laud the
“De Grey blew everyone away with its resource update,” Howard
achievements at Hemi.
said. “I think that is key to why they have continued to attract investors
and even other corporates – if the rumours are to be believed – Hemi
continues to surprise.”
For Kristie Young, 2022 had seen De Grey not only continue its
exploration success but define a clear path to production. The
September PFS demonstrated Mallina as a genuine Tier-1 project,
with forecast production 540,000 ozpa over the first decade of mine
life from a 10 mtpa operation.
“The company has just kept going and kept raising money,” she said.
“And, as a mining engineer, you want to see something to develop
and mine; Hemi has that.”
De Grey is an overnight success story decades in the making. The
company listed in 2002 and spent much of its first two decades
sifting through projects in search of a company-making discovery.
That journey could provide inspiration to the scores of gold juniors
currently doing it tough due to waning market sentiment.
While gold explorers found strong support in the two previous years,
2022 saw investor interest drift towards lithium and other critical
minerals.
Kelly – a former Explorer of the Year during his time with Doray
Minerals – said it was difficult for explorers to stay the course on gold
when they were receiving so little attention.
“It is almost like gold is the Liberal Party and lithium, rare earths, etc
are the Teals, the flavour of the month who all the voters are moving
towards,” he said. “It makes it hard to stick to your knitting as a gold
explorer.”
Numerous gold explorers didn’t stick to their knitting this year,
choosing instead to embrace the battery charge.
Phil Tornatora
Page 22
According to Howard, such companies should be receiving plaudits.
“If you are judging the best gold explorers, should you consider those
who have reinvented themselves in other commodities?” he asked.
“If you look at the explorers who were marked ‘gold’ a year ago,
those who have performed best are now in different commodities. If
we are judging on returning value to shareholders, the ability to pivot
towards drilling rare earths should be acknowledged.”
Lynda Burnett
For those companies wanting to remain in gold, Howard had the
perfect example of making the most of market trends.
Cote d’Ivoire as the judges met.
“Breaker Resources [NL] is a good example of creating value from
Kelly said Australian success in West Africa was understandable
that,” he said. “It made $80 million through its sales of the Manna
given the geological similarities to WA.
lithium project. They have done a good job in identifying something
“West Africa and the Yilgarn are similar,” he said. “You can deploy
of value but recognised that they could realise that value by selling it.
the same exploration techniques and technologies, which is not
They now have $80 million in cash for their gold exploration.”
something you can necessarily do in North America.”
Burnett said looking at the performance of junior explorers and the
The rush towards West Africa could be seen as a judgement on
volume of IPOs in 2022, it was apparent gold was going through a
WA’s maturity but Burnett said there was still plenty of opportunity
lean patch.
in Australia’s gold heartland.
“It has been a classic boom/bust cycle,” she said. “Last year, I was
“You are still seeing things popping out in the Yilgarn and that will
involved in 10 IPOs, this year it has been two. But in those times you
continue,” she said.
have to go back to the teams and their ability to perform.”
With such tough market conditions, are there gold explorers flying
Young agreed, saying increased drilling costs had combined with the
under investors’ radar? Several judges placed watching briefs on
focus on battery minerals to make it hard for gold juniors to advance
juniors for the 2023 Explorer of the Year shortlist.
their assets.
“Musgrave [Minerals Ltd] is doing good work at Cue, good
The GMJ judges widely selected Predictive as their runner-up,
exploration which is finding ounces,” Kelly said.
rewarding the West African explorer for continuing to take its Bankan
project beyond 4 moz gold. “Santana Minerals [Ltd] is definitely interesting but doesn’t market
itself very much,” Howard suggested. “It’s had a 95% increase
Howard praised the company for its willingness to press ahead with
on the share price on the back of 190% resource growth from
ambitious drilling programmes.
its Bendigo-Ophir project in New Zealand where the resource is
now 2 moz.”
Howard also put forward Astral Resources Ltd as one to watch, a
company Burnett has also been impressed with.
“They’ve put on 700,000oz resource this year and deserve an
honourable mention for the quality of those ounces,” she said.
After a tough 2022, all four judges expected 2023 to offer more
encouragement for gold explorers.
“I’ve been hearing the word counter-cyclical a lot recently in the
last 3-4 weeks from gold explorers but I think we’ve reached the
bottom,” Howard said.
Allan Kelly
Kelly also believes the tide is turning, particularly with more drill
rigs available.
“This year, they drilled a 630m step-out hole below the resource to
1km depth and it showed the mineralisation is still there,” Howard “Drilling costs have stabilised, if not come down, but rig availability
said. “That takes lots of guts and could’ve been a project-killer.” is good,” he said. “We’ve had drillers saying they would do for
scrip, against 2021 when you were told you’d be waiting two
Founding managing director Paul Roberts left the company
years for a diamond rig.”
during the year but Howard believes it is in good hands under new
management. Whatever the state of the sector in December 2023, the judges
were unanimous in the presence of at least one company on next
“I think it is about working to people’s skills sets,” he said.
year’s list.
“Paul saw the opportunity in Guinea and did a great job getting
the discovery and the position they are now in, makes the “They were in the right place at the right time but you have to
appointment of Andrew Pardey an excellent one because say there has never been anything like De Grey’s discovery in the
they now have the challenge of developing a mine and he has Pilbara before,” Kelly said. “That discovery has changed everything,
worked on the only two operating mines in Guinea.” and they have the whole belt to themselves to keep exploring,
amazing.”
Predictive was joined on the shortlist by Tietto Minerals Ltd
which was rushing towards first gold pour at its Abujar project in
Page 23
COVER: EXPLORER OF THE YEAR
De Grey continues sharp
trajectory at Hemi
by Dominic Piper
t says plenty for the quality of a project when the exploration was capable of becoming a Top 5 Australian gold producer with
Iteam admits it added 1.6 moz to the resource without even 540,000 ozpa produced over the first decade of production via a
trying. Such is the nature of the Hemi discovery in Western 10 mtpa operation.
Australia’s Pilbara, and the massive opportunity De Grey Mining Jardine said the resource upgrade, PFS and subsequent $150
Ltd still has in front of it. million capital raising meant 2022 was a strong year for De Grey
De Grey – the 2020 Explorer of the Year – only made the but was only a set-up for 2023.
Hemi discovery in late 2019 but has already built an 8.5 moz “We increased confidence in the resource, completed the PFS
gold resource, marking it as the most exciting Australian gold and settled on the process flowsheet. There was lot of project de-
discovery of its generation. risking which went on this year,” he told GMJ in December. “All
Managing director Glenn Jardine said Hemi was the kind of of that set us up for the conversations with shareholders – both
project which just kept on giving. current and prospective – we had in September and October
“In that May resource statement, we added 1.7 moz to the Hemi over the capital raising.”
resource for 8.5 moz,” he said. “That was a particularly strong Some of those discussions took place in North America for the
result as leading into that, the focus wasn’t on resource extension first time, a remarkable fact given how established the De Grey
but increasing confidence.” story has become in Australian investor eyes.
The exploration push delivered on the confidence front as well, Jardine, Tornatora and technical director Andy Beckwith travelled
converting indicated resources from 2.8 moz to 5.8 moz and to the US for the first time in August and found a welcoming and
producing a maiden reserve of 5.1 moz. somewhat new audience.
“Not only was that 1.6 moz overall increase the biggest among “There is increased interest, and with that, the scrutiny has kept
the WA gold sector in the last 12 months, but to put nearly 3 moz lifting but it shows the project keeps improving,” Beckwith said.
into indicated in 12 months is pretty unprecedented,” a clearly “The lightbulb moment came when we presented in Colorado.
delighted general manager exploration Phil Tornatora told GMJ. That is the first time we have presented in North America in
The resource work provided the bedrock for the PFS, released person since the discovery and while there were numerous
in September, which showed Hemi and the wider Mallina project North American investors who followed the story, there were
several that didn’t know it at all. Being able to meet face-to-face
made a difference. And being able to refer to a PFS which was
done to such a high standard was ideal.”
The North American investors could only have been impressed,
not just by Hemi’s obvious quality but also the work De Grey has
done in defining a path to production.
The company immediately launched a DFS after completing the
previous study and is already increasing its capability ahead of
project development.
“We have put in place systems for building organisational
capability – workforce planning, key personnel for pre-
development and development operational readiness,” Jardine
said. “And, we are doing a lot of work around logistics, how and
where we get equipment into the Pilbara, likely. We are really
engaging around that process and engaging with the groups
who are building the plant and doing the mining. That is all well
ahead of the usual schedules.”
The decision to run ahead has been taken in light of tight global
De Grey has rapidly delineated a 10.6 moz gold resource on its
Mallina project in the Pilbara
Page 24
De Grey had as many as 16 rigs on the ground at Hemi in 2022
Back on the ground, De Grey is preparing to fire up the
exploration crews after slowing the rate of drilling in the June and
September quarters.
Tornatora said there was still ample opportunity to extend known
resources and find new deposits.
“We scaled back from the 16 rigs we had in the March quarter
to just a few in June and September, but we are now back to
6-7 rigs again,” he said. “We are now doing a bit of DFS work –
geotech, metallurgical and infill drilling – with a bit more regional
work outside Hemi. After that, we will swing back into resource
definition because at Hemi and regionally, there are still targets.”
The company has restarted aircore and RC drilling as it targets
new prospects in the 15km long by 10km wide Greater Hemi
supply chains which have seen other projects slow in recent
corridor.
months. Beckwith said De Grey wasn’t concerned about the
current supply chain and inflationary pressures. In November, it reported hits from the Antwerp prospect with
“We are reacting to what we are seeing in the market,” he said. results of 2m @ 261 g/t gold from 36m, 1m @ 41.6 g/t from 59m
and 3m @ 2.7 g/t from 57m in aircore holes and 6m @ 4.4 g/t
“Existing producers are having to be very cautious on capital
management and allocation and they’re having to live with that from 28m, 6m @ 2.1 g/t from 43m and 25m @ 1 g/t from 78 in
RC holes.
day-to-day. But we’ll be coming in with a solid base and a clear
understanding of where costs are.” “There are still big areas that haven’t had a hole in them yet.
Whether they are another Hemi, a structural target or even
The WA gold sector has seen several false starts among
developers in 2022 but Beckwith insists Hemi’s quality means something new, we don’t know,” Beckwith said.
De Grey will be different. Underground targets are also on the agenda.
“Many of the issues in the emerging developers come down to “It is early days on the underground because we’ve only drilled
scale of resource and lack of flexibility, but Hemi is pretty robust 300-400m, going beyond that will take time,” Tornatora said.
and high grade, so the optionality to move within the pit is there,” When it does get around to drilling at depth, it appears likely De
he said. “The dimensions of the orebody also means there is Grey will follow a familiar pattern – success after success.
less risk. The Brolga starter pit alone will payback capital within
“Everything has gone pretty much as planned from discovery
two years.”
through to the PFS,” Jardine said. “The metallurgy was better
As well as engineering design, De Grey has recently stepped than expected, we’ve expanded the production profile and we
up its engagement with stakeholders, including the Traditional are finding more gold. And it is still early days. This project is less
Owners through the Kariyarra Aboriginal Corporation. than three years old and has the potential to get much bigger.”
“We have had very strong engagement with the Traditional If it does, De Grey and Hemi are likely to be a constant presence
Owners and it has been a good process,” Jardine said. “We are in the Explorer of the Year shortlist for several years to come.
working to the expectations of the new Heritage Act, so we’ve
incorporated all its aspects in our engagement. We believe we
will have an agreement in the not-too-distant future. Ours would Glenn Jardine
be the first agreement for the Kariyarra, so it is a big deal for both
of us.”
An agreement with Traditional Owners will be crucial to
locking away project financing, for which discussions have
also kicked off.
“We’ll look at every option on financing this project,” Jardine said.
“We have a major shareholder now in Gold Road [Resources
Ltd] with 19.5%. We know they can stump up the money when
they need to. They have the balance sheet strength and cashflow
that [previous major shareholder] DGO [Ltd] didn’t.
“We’ve had very strong interest from debt providers and equity
providers and we are operating on the basis that De Grey will take
Hemi to production. All our modelling says the best outcome for
shareholders is for De Grey to take the project into production,
that is why we are doing all that preparation at a company level.”
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FINALIST: MINER
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Perseus goes from myth to legend
by Dominic Piper
imply by the raw factors of cash generation and value in the last 18 months.
Sreturn, Perseus Mining Ltd had an exceptional 2022 The market has responded, sending the company’s shares
when compared to the rest of the Australian gold sector. up nearly 30% year-on-year while Australian-focused miners
That it did so from operations far removed from the Tier- struggled to maintain their footing. Perseus is now firmly
1 jurisdiction of its domestic-focused peers makes it established as an international mid-tier gold miner.
achievements even more remarkable.
For managing director Jeff Quartermaine, Perseus’ recent
The last three years have seen Perseus grow into a premier market performance is reward for the company sticking to
mid-tier gold miner on the ASX, delivering a plus-100% its plan.
return while rivals shrunk in value. FY2022 saw the company
“The simple fact is, we keep generating a lot of free cash
produce 494,014oz at AISC of $US952/oz for $1.126 billion
flow and are keeping cash costs under control; that is seen
revenue, $280 million NPAT and $523 million operating
as a positive by investors,” he told GMJ. “We laid out our
cashflow.
plan to investors four years ago and we’ve delivered on
The results led it to declare a final dividend of 1.64c/share – everything in that plan.”
a 1.5% yield – taking total shareholder returns to $50 million
It is remarkable to think that back in 2018, Perseus had
only recently graduated from single-mine status, having
just switched on its Sissingue mine in Cote d’Ivoire. Four
years on, Sissingue and the Edikan mine in Ghana are still
performing well, as is the company’s largest mine, Yaoure,
also in Cote d’Ivoire.
Such is the consistent nature of the existing assets,
Perseus is now preparing for its next stage of growth having
completed the acquisition of Orca Gold for $C215 million.
The deal hands Perseus the 2.9 moz gold Block 14 deposit
and a large land package in Sudan, widely considered one
of the world’s final gold frontiers.
The Orca deal was capable because of Perseus’ improved
balance sheet strength, a factor which can be directly
attributed to the consistent performance of the company’s
trio of West African gold mines – Yaoure and Sissingue in
Perseus produced almost 500,000oz across its West African Cote d’Ivoire and Edikan in Ghana.
operations in FY2022 Edikan has long been the company’s problem child but
The Sissingue gold mine in Cote d’Ivoire has continued to
surprise on the upside for Perseus
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with production up 82% in component of the CMA
the September quarter to deposit.
52,127oz, it is producing The PFS suggested the CMA
above expectations. underground could offer up
Quartermaine put the 720,000 tpa, enabling the
improvements down to mill production profile at Yaoure
efficiencies and productivity, to be maintained once CMA
an often elusive goal in West open pit operations came to
Africa. an end in Year 5.
“In the early days, I used to “We will be able to blend that
Jeff Quartermaine
go off my tree about run time and the fact we had to be underground material with the
resigned to not doing better than 85%,” he said. “Now, we lower-grade Yaoure pit and
are consistently at 95-99% run time. I think it is a case of keep the production profile consistent,” Quartermaine said.
not just accepting, ‘this is Africa’. Instead, we have gradually “We have absolute confidence the material can be treated
lifted standards across the board. in the plant. If anything, we have been a bit conservative
“You can’t do anything about grade and every day is a because we have consistently outperformed on recovery
challenge but the team on the ground is quite adept at during operation.”
addressing the challenges.” At Edikan, the company has rejuvenated its exploration push
At Yaoure, production was down nearly 10,000oz to 71,469oz following the discovery of the Nkosuo deposit, 7km north-
in the September quarter but with AISC at an industry-leading west of the mine, where it has defined an indicated resource
$US658/oz, the mine remains an exceptional performer. of 14.5mt @ 0.91 g/t for 422,000oz gold.
“Anyone who thinks their operation will run 100% all the “The assumption was that the area was barren but in the last
time has never been involved in mining,” Quartermaine said. 10 years artisanal miners have been mining alluvials there,
“But your team becomes adept at recognising things. I have so we picked up options on three blocks,” Quartermaine
full faith in the team and it is never about one person, from explained. “We have flown geophysics and done mapping,
Chris Woodall as chief operating officer and Craig Fawcett etc and defined a series of structures and our geologists
as head of technical services, to the GMs on site and their noted blocks of granite similar to what we are mining at
excellent teams.” Edikan.
Sissingue is the smallest operation in the group but still “We will continue with scout drilling and incrementally add to
managed to reduce AISC to $US1,336/oz in the September the reserve. Don’t be surprised if we replicate the 2 moz gold
quarter as it pulled out 13,864oz. we already have at Edikan.”
Perseus is now turning to extension opportunities at all three The second generation of operations in both Cote d’Ivoire
mines. and Ghana – as well as the opportunity in front of it in Sudan
– suggest Perseus will enjoy its elevated status for some
Yaoure is offering the most immediate opportunity, Perseus
time to come.
having produced a maiden reserve of 3.7mt @ 4.48 g/t
for 537,000oz gold and related PFS for the underground
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Gold Road
maintains
successful path
by Fraser Palamara Duncan Gibbs
fter hiccups with the ball mill at the Gruyere gold mine in The September quarterly report followed an impressive June
AWestern Australia, Gold Road Resources Ltd approached roundup which smashed records in production, sales, tonnes
the end of 2022 within production guidance and on track to processed, free cash flow, and cash balance. The September
greater achievements. report only managed to follow up on the head grade.
The Gold Road ship maintained its steady course in September The end of 2022 saw Gold Road steadily approaching 1.3 g/t
quarter following production of 83,635oz at AISC of $1,426/ gold head grade at Gruyere, which is an important component
oz. This kept the company within its yearly guidance of 300- to improving the operation as it moves through Stage 2 mining.
340,000oz for AISC of up to $1,470/oz. “If you look at the future pit stages going forward, majority
Reflecting on the problems with the ball mill, in response to a of them are in excess of 1.3 g/t,” Gibbs explained. “So we’re
question during the Diggers & Dealers mining forum in August, confident…we’ll see that uptick in grade, and that’s a key factor
managing director Duncan Gibbs called the issues nothing but to underpinning our 350,000oz future run rate [for 2023].”
a “speedbump” in the way of taking Gruyere to the next level. Gibbs is also excited to search for “mine two” as Gold Road
“We had a few speedbumps with the mill in the second and explores greenfields 25km away from Gruyere. Drilling planned
third quarter last year [2021],” he said. “A lot of that related to for 2023 will follow up on notable hits such as 10m @ 8.61 g/t
bearings, particularly on the ball mill, that being the common gold, 5m @ 16.76 g/t and 7m @ 3.91 g/t.
kind of theme…we’ve worked through those. “Discovery for us is all about trying to find mine two, and we’re
“We’ve certainly got an opportunity to turn Gruyere from a good very much a company focused on greenfields exploration as
operation into a great operation.” part of our growth strategy,” Gibbs said.
Tropicana brings the warmth
by Fraser Palamara
he past year signalled the first financial period of Regis largest producer on the ASX in FY22.
TResources Ltd’s fully fledged 30% interest in Tropicana, and Hefty investments are being made to keep Tropicana going the
chairman James Mactier was nothing short of pleased with the distance, including $67 million spent in FY22 on the Havana
mine’s performance. cutback.
“As expected, it has delivered significant production and “Exploration results at depth reinforce our expectation that
free cashflow to Regis, both of which are set to increase Tropicana will continue to provide these benefits for many years
substantially in the near term,” Mactier said at the company’s to come, well beyond current reserves,” Mactier said.
AGM in November.
Meanwhile at Duketon, Regis has invested $46 million at the
Tropicana is operated by JV partner and majority owner Garden Well South underground section. The operation saw
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. The addition to Regis’ portfolio delivered the main pump station and primary ventilation commissioned,
$57 million in free cash flow during the September quarter. as well as first ore delivered to the mill during 2022.
The addition of Tropicana alongside the longstanding Duketon “Throughout this year, we continued to invest in our Duketon
gold mine helped push the company to a record 437,000oz assets through open cut and underground development,
gold production at AISC of $1,556/oz, making Regis the fourth plant maintenance and modifications, process improvements,
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resource and reserve definition drilling and exploration target recently referred to the NSW independent planning commission
generation,” Mactier said. (IPC) for final approval.
Regis is targeting 500,000oz in annual group production for “This is a very significant step forward and I would like to thank
FY25, with Duketon the main contributor as Tropicana gains our team for their considerable efforts so far,” Mactier said.
pace. A feasibility study will follow after IPC approval. At the time of
In the meantime, Regis continues to advance the development print, a public hearing was yet to take place on further approval
of its McPhillamys project in New South Wales, which was of the project.
Capricorn eyes Karlawinda 2.0
by Fraser Palamara
lthough Capricorn Metals Ltd was nominated as a GMJ’s
AMiner of the Year for its outstanding work at Karlawinda,
much anticipation surrounds the company’s opportunity to
develop the Mt Gibson gold project in Western Australia.
Capricorn landed one of the biggest bargains in the industry
when it bought the 2.1 moz Mt Gibson project, northeast of Perth,
from a Chinese company in late 2021 for just $39 million. It didn’t
take long for Capricorn to raise the resource at the “hidden gem” Mark Clark
to 2.8 moz following rigorous drilling.
At last year’s Diggers & Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie, On the production front, Capricorn’s Karlawinda posted 118,434oz
Capricorn managing director Mark Clark compared the at AISC of $1,112/oz during FY22. The company has stated a
opportunity at Mt Gibson to its operating Karlawinda mine in the guidance of 115-125,000oz at AISC $1,160-1,260/oz for FY23.
Pilbara.
Already a quarter into FY23, Karlawinda – east of Newman – has
“Mt Gibson has very similar tonnes, grade and stripping ratio to produced 31,000oz at AISC of $1,166/oz, contributing to $38.5
Karlawinda,” he said. “Not dissimilar at all.” million of company cash flow.
Mt Gibson was previously mined between 1986 and 1999, The open pit Karlawinda mine maintains a throughput of up to 5
producing 868,000oz across 14 pits at an average depth of 60m. mtpa, a reserve grade of 0.8 g/t gold, 93% recovery, a mine life of
Clark said historical mining at the project only tapered off because up to 12 years, 1.34 moz in reserves, and a 2.29 moz resource.
the gold price at the time didn’t warrant ongoing exploration.
Karlawinda was also undergoing resource and reserve growth
“The resource numbers [of Mt Gibson] are within 100,000oz of drilling at the time of print.
Karlawinda but the difference is this project has only been drilled
“We’re currently drilling out the area immediately below our
to 140m below surface,” he said. “Not because the geology dies
reserve pit design, which is the downdip area where the bulk
out but because the gold price that prevailed at the time it was
of our resource is, which is not yet in reserve,” Clark explained.
owned, and last worked on, was $2,000/oz below the current
“We’re drilling an RC programme of 30,000m to get the density
price.”
into that next 50-100m below the reserve pits to update the
Capricorn has already delineated three “significant” regional reserves.”
targets to continue growing Mt Gibson’s resource, on top of
Capricorn’s share price saw turbulence throughout October, at
drilling deeper at the historical mining pit. These targets include
one point dropping more than 10%, as Karlawinda garnered
extensions to the mine trend, the McDonalds/Highway target 5km
mainstream press following the on-site death of a contractor.
north of the open pit, and the Taurus trend. A first-pass 30,000m
Production was suspended at the mine site before resuming in
aircore drilling programme was to begin at the time of print.
early November, and Capricorn’s share price has recovered to be
“The geology will continue, the ounces will get significantly bigger, up more than 35% on the year, as of December 2022.
and I wouldn’t be surprised if this does end up being a bigger
Proxy votes at the Capricorn AGM saw considerable pushback
project than Karlawinda,” Clark said. “I think we will be drilling here
against re-election and remuneration. More than 15% of
for a long time to come.
shareholders voted against the remuneration report while more
“We think there’s great potential to grow the resource along strike than 20% voted against the re-election of non-executive director
and below the current pit design. Myles Ertzen and more than 16% voted against the re-election
“We’re thrilled with that acquisition and we believe that project will, of Clark.
in the medium term, become our second mining operation.”
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New faces, same Predictive approach
by Fraser Palamara
he new leadership of Predictive Discovery Ltd, winner of last raised $55 million in May to support the 60,000m of drilling which is
Tyear’s GMJ Explorer of the Year award, is steering the Bankan targeting the Northeast Bankan and Bankan Creek areas.
gold project in Guinea towards production under a steady voyage. “We have extensive drill programmes under way, currently eight
Predictive managing director Andrew Pardey stepped up to the job rigs drilling,” Pardey said. “Six of those are focused on the resource
on the eve of 2022, replacing company founder Paul Roberts who infill and expansion, and also branching into doing more of the
is now chairing the recently listed Desoto Resources Ltd. regional exploration along the 35km trend.”
Speaking at the Precious Metals Summit in Zurich, Pardey said Latest drill results from Predictive at the time of print were highly
Predictive was taking a measured approach to potentially reach encouraging, including hits of 38m @ 7.18 g/t from 541m, 22m
production within the next three years. @ 5.34 g/t from 286m and 49m @ 2.04 g/t from 288m. These
“Our goal is to deliver a scoping study to the Government of Guinea intercepts were delineated from within Northeast Bankan’s
by the end of next year [2023],” Pardey said. “The critical path for $US1,800/oz optimised resource pit shell.
that timeline is doing the environmental and social population Pardey couldn’t help but muse what a repeat of Northeast Bankan
studies. Until the start of this year, [previous management] had could do for the company.
done none of that work. “Another of those and suddenly you’re going from 4.2 moz to
“Then we can go onto to apply to the mining convention…ideal maybe 8 moz, who knows?” he said.
world from that, two years [to] first production.” “There will be a lot more news flow coming out as the scoping study
Bankan contains a 4.2 moz @ 1.63 g/t inferred gold resource and work is under way to take this project forward. We believe this has
is currently undergoing a newly funded drill campaign. Predictive all the makings of a Tier-1 asset that will be developed in Guinea.”
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Abujar:
West Africa’s next gold mine
Targeting first gold
Targeting first gold in Q4CY22
in Q4CY2022
260,000oz gold forecast in first year of production
at AISC US$651/oz*
* DFS 5 October 2021
Tietto’s build and operations team closing in on first gold
ASX: TIE
Contact: + 61 8 9420 8270 [email protected] www.tietto.com
+
Contact: 61 8 9331 6710 [email protected] www.tietto.com
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The mighty fightin’
Havieron
by Michael Washbourne
ike a world champion pole vaulter, Greatland Gold plc continues syndicated debt facility of
Lto raise the bar in pursuit of the best possible outcome for its $220 million from the likes
remarkable Havieron discovery. of ANZ, HSBC and ING.
Expectations at Greatland were significantly higher in 2022 Greatland then unveiled
following what managing director Shaun Day described as a a strategic investment of
defining year for the London-listed company in 2021. Ongoing up to $120 million from
exploration success at Havieron, coupled with a landmark Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo
Havieron hosts a 2.9 moz @ 3.7
funding outcome and board restructure, all but ensured that new Metals and subsequently
g/t gold equivalent reserve
benchmark was comfortably cleared. appointed respected
Without the slightest hesitation, Day believes the best is still to Perth businessman Mark
come for Greatland as expectations are lifted yet again in 2023. Barnaba as the company’s new chair and former Fortescue
Metals Group Ltd chief executive Elizabeth Gaines as deputy
“Everything we are doing is positioning us towards the delivery of
chair.
that first ore in early 2024,” Day told GMJ.
The new-look Greatland board was rounded out with the addition
“We continue to invest in the team and we continue to invest in the
of experienced mine operator Jimmy Wilson.
drill bit, both at Havieron but also in our exploration footprint. If we
are successful in those areas, we will continue to create value for “I think the willingness of Jimmy, Elizabeth and Mark to join the
Greatland shareholders from what is a truly world-class asset.” team and share the vision that we have for Havieron and the
broader Greatland entity is testament to the quality we have in
Greatland had seven rigs spinning at Havieron in Western
place,” Day said.
Australia’s Paterson province for most of 2022, delivering an
enhanced resource of 6.5 moz @ 2.2 g/t gold equivalent. A further “It is still a very challenging market but I think all of those elements
resource update and DFS are expected in the coming months. combined have allowed us to distinguish ourselves and achieve
the best possible financing outcome for Havieron.”
Arguably, the company’s biggest win in the past 12 months was
the decision by JV partner Newcrest Mining Ltd not to exercise Greatland was recently buoyed by new intersections between
an option for an additional 5% of the project, which lies just 45km South East Crescent and the Eastern Breccia which have
west of the Telfer mine. It followed an extensive review process by increased the potential for a continuous, high-grade mineralised
Greatland which ultimately placed a higher option price of $US60 zone now linking what the company previously believed were two
million on that small but valuable slice of Havieron. separate areas.
“It was a legacy issue in the JV agreement which gave Newcrest Exploration drilling also continues to test regional geophysical
an option to acquire an additional 5% of the asset at a PFS value,” targets outside of the main Havieron system on the existing
Day said. mining lease.
“Obviously Greatland wanted that 5% option to be fully valued so, “We think the best place to look for gold and copper is where
pursuant to the JV, we decided to take that through an arbitration it’s already been found and we have some really fantastic
process and we effectively produced our own PFS with an geophysical targets along strike from Havieron,” Day said.
updated resource, updated reserve and effectively the whole Meanwhile, the Perth-headquartered Greatland is poised to
mine plan. We supported that with a raft of independent technical officially unveil plans for an ASX listing in early 2023.
analysis and independent expert reports which demonstrated “London has been a great market for us and we really appreciate
just over a fivefold increase from that PFS value. the ongoing support we have up there, but there is also a sense
“Holding on to the full 30% of a world-class asset was the best that we would be more highly valued on the Australian market,”
possible outcome for Greatland.” Day said.
With the long-term ownership structure resolved, Greatland “The Australian market understands Australian resources
was able to quickly lock away the funding requirements for its projects very well, it’s where our peer group sits and we think the
share of the Havieron development, headlined by a seven-year ASX has a demonstrated capacity to support equity raises.”
Page 32
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Building a Tier 1
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8.5Moz Mineral Resource at Hemi within
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Ausgold
only just
getting
started Ausgold has launched a new drilling campaign at its 2.16 moz Katanning project
by Michael Washbourne
usgold Ltd is still an explorer at heart, according to managing Ausgold’s resource and reserve announcements, in May
Adirector Matthew Greentree, despite a transformational year and August respectively, came on the back of an aggressive
which has positioned the company as a developer in waiting. exploration programme at Katanning, including more than
Perhaps the quietest achiever in the local gold sector over the 30,000m of drilling in the Central and Southern zones. The
past few years, Ausgold added almost 1 moz to the total resource company also raised $16 million early last year to fund that
at its 2.16 moz Katanning project during 2022, as well as declaring campaign and more.
a maiden reserve of 32mt @ 1.25 g/t gold for 1.28 moz alongside For Greentree, the eureka moment that suggested the project
a robust PFS which forecast low-cost production of 105,000 ozpa could be much bigger than previously thought occurred several
over 11 years using simple open-cut mining methods. years ago when Ausgold intersected 26m @ 6.6 g/t at what is
Now in his sixth year at the helm of the company, Greentree now called Jinkas South.
believes the full scale of the Katanning project is still to be realised. “The discovery hole at Jinkas South was a success because it
“We’ve still got the ethos of an explorer because we haven’t given validated the conceptual model I had developed previously with
up the view that this is a much larger project,” he told GMJ. my SRK Consulting cap on,” he said. “Once we understood that,
it enabled us to really go to town in terms of building up the scale.”
“Both the resource and now the feasibility study have shown
this is a very large, attractive project in terms of economics. Ausgold also found success using downhole EM to firm up drill
But alongside that, we’ve also got a number of very exciting targets. Reported discovery costs over the past year were just
prospects and extensions to the current mineralisation to follow $11/oz.
up, so we won’t be giving up exploration any time soon. We’re A new exploration campaign targeting extensions to the Central
really looking at this as an opportunity to move into cash flow so and Southern zones, as well as examining the underground
we can increase the scale of the project and the company.” potential of the project, began in November as the company
The PFS also indicated average production of 126,000 ozpa over officially launched into DFS mode.
the first six years at a head grade of 1.47 g/t gold, generating That study is expected to be completed before the end of 2023,
$555 million of after-tax cash flow over that period. Capex for ensuring Ausgold will remain at the forefront of investor minds for
the proposed mine and 3 mtpa conventional gravity and CIL at least the next 12 months. The company was recently given a
processing facility is priced at $225 million. special mention in Argonaut’s annual list of the “best undeveloped
Other key financials outlined in the study include post-tax NPV metals and mining projects” on the ASX.
of $364 million, IRR of 40.7% and payback in 1.7 years of first Greentree expects interest in the company to grow further as it
gold. The estimated AISC over the first six years of production is continues to “unlock” mineral development opportunities around
$1,370/oz. Katanning.
“Not many companies come out with a plus-1 moz maiden ore “What we’re demonstrating with good, systematic exploration that
reserve, but what’s especially fantastic about this is the financial this is a very large gold province which just hasn’t had the same
metrics we’ve been able to obtain with it,” Greentree said. attention as other parts of the Yilgarn,” he said.
“We used a fairly conservative $2,300/oz Australian gold price in “What we’ve identified is the tip of the iceberg. This is still a pretty
this financial modelling and it gave us a payback period of just 18 underexplored greenstone belt and we think there is a much
months. If we move that closer to today’s spot gold price [$2,600/ larger project at play.”
oz at the time of print], the NPV increases quite considerably.”
Page 34
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Tietto keeps Abujar turning
by Michael Washbourne
s Tietto Minerals Ltd prepares to become West Africa’s
Anewest gold producer, founder and managing director
Caigen Wang has lauded those who stuck by him and the
company over the past 12 years.
Tietto was set to pour first gold from its Abujar project in Cote
d’Ivoire at the time of print, completing one of the most rapid
transitions from explorer to producer in recent years.
For Wang, it has been a remarkable journey since the
company’s inception in 2010 as an iron ore explorer in Liberia.
Tietto crossed over to Cote d’Ivoire four years later before
listing on the ASX in 2018 and hasn’t looked back since.
Speaking to GMJ from Abujar where he was readying for
Tietto founder Caigen Wang on site at Abujar in 2014
the production of the historic first gold bar, Wang said the
company would not have been able to take the project from
Wang has no doubt his company can adjust to the tag of
first exploration to constructed mine inside eight years if not for
established West African gold miner.
the support of all key stakeholders.
“We have great teams and team leaders whose experience
“I am feeling really very grateful to our shareholders for their
and track records of successfully building and operating large-
trust, support and patience over 12 years since Tietto was
scale gold mines in West Africa is second to none,” he said.
incorporated in 2010,” he said. “I am also very excited about
Having started with a zero resource base when Ivorian
the cash positive [position] of the company to be realised in the
weeks ahead.” authorities awarded the exploration licence to Tietto in 2014,
the company has now built up a 3.45 moz gold inventory at
According to the updated DFS released last year, Abujar
Abujar.
will produce 1.2 moz gold over the first six years, including
Central to Tietto’s exploration success over the past eight years
260,000oz at $US651/oz AISC in the first 12 months of
operation. Based on the $US1,407/oz gold price assumed in – and particularly the last four since becoming a publicly-listed
entity – was the decision to purchase its own diamond drilling
the study, the project is set to generate life-of-mine revenue
of $US2.38 billion, EBITDA of $1.08 billion, post-tax NPV of fleet. During its peak, the company often completed more than
10,000m of diamond drilling per month for less than 25% of a
$US465 million and IRR of 64%. Payback occurs just 1.3 years
after first production. standard commercial rate.
Construction of the open pit mine and 4.5 mtpa processing The drill bit continues to turn up great numbers at Abujar.
In the December quarter alone, Tietto reported a range of
plant at Abujar was funded entirely from cash after Tietto
replaced a pre-existing mandate for debt finance with intersections which would be the envy of most junior explorers,
including 19m @ 21.94 g/t from 270m (including 6m @ 46.62
institutional equity support.
g/t), 4m @ 24.73 g/t from 85m (including 0.5m @ 195.53 g/t)
Led by chief operations officer Matt Wilcox, the Abujar build
and 8m @ 11.38 g/t from 262m (including 0.5m @ 174.9 g/t).
was completed on time and on budget despite the global
inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions which Wang insisted there were no plans to reduce the amount of
drilling on site despite the company’s focus shifting towards
have impacted many others in the sector.
production.
“The proficiency and efficiency along with the hard work of the
“Gold resource is fundamentally important for a gold mine,” he
mine construction team impressed me most,” Wang said.
said. “The current 3.45 moz gold resource defined at Abujar
“I also appreciate deeply the general support given to us by the
came from only 10% of the 70km gold mineralisation corridor
local communities and government agents at different levels.”
of the 1,114sq km Abujar exploration land package.
Tietto will now look to emulate the feats of fellow ASX-listed
“Keeping our own fleet of eight diamond drill rigs turning can
juniors West African Resources Ltd and Perseus Mining Ltd
realise strong gold resource growth, increase gold reserves
and transition from accomplished explorer to successful
and mine life, and deliver more economical benefits for all
producer.
stakeholders.”
Page 35
AFRICA
From little things,
big things grow
by Michael Washbourne
hesser Resources Ltd is looking to prove that size doesn’t Bondala tenement and we’ve tried to do some other M&A
Calways matter. deals to sort of build that out, even if they are not always easy
Since acquiring the Diamba Sud project five years ago, to execute.
Chesser has consistently faced questions about whether its “Everything else will fall into place, one way or the other, over
modest footprint on the eastern edge of Senegal contains time. The important thing is we’ve now got the company into a
enough ounces to warrant development of what would be only position where we’ll be the first mover with a process plant and
the third operating gold mine in the tiny West African country. we can go from there.”
A discernible lack of large exploration plots is often cited as the Grove is no stranger to Senegal, having previously facilitated
main reason why investors have overlooked Senegal in favour bank finance for Mineral Deposits Ltd to develop the Sabodala
of opportunities in the neighbouring Mali or Cote d’Ivoire. gold mine, now owned by Endeavour Mining Corp.
Chesser believes it can – slowly but surely – change those Chesser chairman Mark Connelly and commercial director
investor perceptions of projects in Senegal. The ASX-listed Boubacar Thera were also integral in the delineation, financing,
company has already made a promising start in that regard, and construction of Senegal’s only other operating gold mine,
defining just shy of 1 moz gold across four shallow deposits, Mako, prior to the acquisition of Toro Gold by Resolute Mining
while growing the total search space at Diamba Sud from 52sq Ltd in 2019.
km to circa 872sq km. Woodside Energy Ltd is perhaps the most recognisable name
In his previous role with successful West African gold producer currently operating in Senegal via its $4.5 billion offshore
Perseus Mining Ltd, Chesser managing director Andrew Sangomar oil and gas development project which remains on
Grove cast his eye over Diamba Sud. He admits to also once track for first production later this year.
being sceptical of the project’s small footprint. Despite the long established presence of larger players such
“I came in with the view that we needed a bigger footprint, but as Woodside, Endeavour and Resolute, Grove is still often
in reality I think the prospectivity of Diamba Sud is much better asked whether Senegal presents any geopolitical risk to
than I’d anticipated,” Grove explained to GMJ on a recent site investment.
visit in Senegal. “There’s a lot of investors who don’t know West Africa very well,
“We’ve got nearly 1 moz now, it’s still growing and the so they do ask about Senegal as an investment jurisdiction,
economics we’ve wrapped around the project are excellent. but it’s a pretty easy one to answer at the end of the day,”
We have managed to increase the footprint with our new Grove said.
Page 36
estimates – and in some cases updates – for the Area A, Area
An aerial view of the Diamba Sud
exploration camp and tenement base, with D, Karakara and Bougouda discoveries, as well as published
Barrick’s Gountoko 5.5 moz gold mine in the first set of financial metrics for a potential 2 mtpa operation
the background at Diamba Sud.
The October scoping study forecast production of 614,000oz
over six years at an average AISC of $US784/oz, including
“Senegal has now developed two 243,000oz at AISC of $US547/oz across the first two years,
modern gold mines, both of those generating post-tax NPV of $US203 million and IRR of 47%,
have gone through the licensing based on a $US1,600/oz gold price.
process and they’re now both owned Capex is estimated at $US183 million, with payback occurring
by two very well-known companies in just 17 months after commercial production is achieved.
Endeavour and Resolute. And then
Chesser expected the project economics would be further
there’s the massive investment in the
enhanced when the Karakara maiden resource and a revised
country by Woodside on the oil and
estimate for Area D are factored into the updated scoping
gas side of things.
study which was due at the time of print.
“If you look across the board at all the
Grove said the company was focused on converting as much
country risks for West Africa, Senegal
resource into mineable ounces.
is one of the best, if not the best. I think
“My view has always been how much converts into what you
the only issue from a gold exploration
can potentially mine is the real key, and we’ve shown that a
perspective is that it’s largely limited to
fairly large proportion of our resources can be converted into a
that small wedge on the eastern side
mining inventory in the future,” he said.
of Senegal. That’s probably why a lot
of attention goes into Mali and Ivory “The project economics are very strong and actually compare
Coast, or even Guinea and Ghana, very nicely to a number of those small scale projects which
because they’ve got those large, have been developed successfully in West Africa, like
prospective land packages which just Sissingue for Perseus or Roxgold’s [now Fortuna Silver Mines
don’t exist in Senegal, unfortunately.” Inc] Yaramoko mine.
Diamba Sud (current resource of “It’s all about economics in the end, it’s about how fast you can
17.2mt @ 1.7 g/t gold for 951,000oz) is proximal to several pay back the capital and how much margin you make. Then the
major gold mines, including Barrick Gold Corp’s Luolo (12.5 life will come because there’s exploration and consolidation
moz) and Gountoko (5.5 moz) operations across the border in and other things which inevitably follow.”
Mali. Barrick and IAMGold Corp are also actively exploring to Chesser is hoping to outline a 10-year mine plan for Diamba
the east and south of Chesser’s ground. Sud by the time the DFS is rolled out mid-year, paving the way
Since the appointment of Connelly and Grove to the key for development of Senegal’s third operating gold mine.
board posts in 2020, Chesser has unveiled maiden resource Although there is still plenty of work to do to firm up the project’s
Andrew Grove
Page 37
AFRICA
Environmental and social manager Ndeye
Oumy Thiam inspects some of the flora
which is being studied at Diamba Sud
credentials, Grove does not expect the financing process to be Diamba Sud is subject to the same process.
too challenging. Chesser has also committed to ramping up its community
“Given my experience, what the banks typically look at is how engagement programmes within the nearby Gamba-Gamba
quickly they can get their money back – because time is a risk village. While initiatives to date have included the construction
for them – and is there enough tail in the project to support any of a new access bridge and medical centre, Grove said other
difficulties around the ramp up and whatnot,” he said. projects such as the market garden represented the company’s
“Our payback is very rapid and the first two years is very long-term commitment to the region.
low risk because it’s oxide material near surface with great “We’re evolving that engagement…it’s not just about building
continuity. I think the banks would see this as a fairly simple monuments, it’s about getting the community involved,” he
exercise.” said.
One factor which appears to also be on Chesser’s side is “The market garden is an important one for us. We know
strong support across all levels of government in Senegal. we’re going to be here for a long time so we’re giving them the
Grove has no doubt the past experience of Connelly and opportunity to produce food for not only their families but to
Thera in permitting the Mako mine will prove invaluable when also generate some commerce from selling stuff back to us,
There is no better example of Senegal’s ability to stand
tall amongst giants than the 2002 FIFA World Cup
n the opening match of the tournament, Senegal upset pair scoured the uninhabited land that would one day be
Idefending champions France before embarking on acquired by Chesser Resources Ltd and become known as
an incredible run to the quarter-finals and creating the the Diamba Sud gold project.
opportunities of a lifetime for the 23 players who proudly In fact, it was Diao who came up with the idea to package the
wore the “Lions of Teranga” kit. ground and entice an Australian explorer to firm up whether
One of those players was Salif Diao, who was subsequently the rocks had the potential to one day become a gold mine.
signed by Liverpool for £5 million. The defensive-midfielder “Being from Senegal and from a gold mining area, I thought it
remained in the English Premier League for much of the next would make sense for me to start investing in my hometown,”
decade, also suiting up for Birmingham City, Portsmouth Diao told GMJ on site in November, just hours before the
and Stoke City, before hanging up his international football Senegalese national team kicked off their 2022 FIFA World
boots after 39 appearances and four goals for his beloved Cup campaign.
Senegal.
“Usually, people just see it as an opportunity of investing and
Born in Kedougou, Diao spent much of his youth “licking earning money, but for me, it’s more than that. I’ve known this
rocks” with his prospecting father. On many occasions, the area since I was a kid and I wanted to be able to tell young
Page 38
especially as we start to get bigger with mining camps and employment alongside skillset requirements. The company
we’ll need access to more fruit and vegetables.” itself is also in regular communication with local community
The success of the Mako mine should also provide plenty of groups, including an understanding the site does not always
encouragement for Chesser, particularly given the enthusiasm have vacancies.
from Senegalese locals for jobs in the country’s mining sector. Unlike Mako or Sabodala, Diamba Sud is located in a much
Resolute’s in-country subsidiary Petowal Mining Company more remote region of Senegal which will inevitably present
employs just over 300 workers, of which almost 87% are some upskilling challenges for Chesser prior to the start of
Senegalese. Mako is also host to 940 contractors, comprising mining in the years to come.
just 54 expats. “We want to employ as many locals as we can, but we’re going
In total, 92% of the overall workforce at Mako are Senegalese to need to do some capacity building to get people’s skill levels
nationals who have access to a range of training programmes up so they can perform the jobs that will be available to them,”
in areas such as leadership development and cultural Grove said.
awareness. While Chesser may have a small footprint to explore and
Petowal continues to maintain a “very high” level of interest for develop at Diamba Sud, its impact in Senegal is expected to
new jobs at the mine and has engaged a regional recruitment reach far and wide and remain well beyond the life of the mine.
committee which allows for transparency of available “The thing I really like about this project is we’re going to bring
Salif Diao (centre) with Chesser senior geologist Brenton
McWhirter and senior project geologist Oumar Diop
African people that have made it in Europe or anywhere else companies. Working with the right people is very important
in the world that it’s very important to come back home and in business.”
invest in order to help people who are here in poverty and to Diao suggested a future mining operation at Diamba Sud
be able to create jobs. would be viewed as “symbolic” by the local community given
“I really see it as a duty instead of business.” both his personal history with the project and his quest to
Diao even named Chesser’s subsidiary company “Boya”, one day build a mining operation there.
which he said was an Australian word for rocks, thus “It would mean so much to them to be able to say this mine
fostering an important early connection between his birth was set up by a Senegalese guy who is from the local area,”
country and the land down under. he said. “Everything we do in the community has massive,
“We wanted to be working with Australian companies,” he massive meaning.
said. “Australians show serious professionalism in the job “As you saw yesterday, the population from the local
and have been working around the world on most of the big community walked 2-3km just to come into the camp and
projects in gold or iron ore. say ‘thank you’ for all the great things we’re doing. This
“There’s a reason why we are working today with Australian project is just as important for them as it is for us.”
Page 39
AFRICA
long-term commerce into the area, including long-term jobs to
lots of people,” Grove said. “And for the people that don’t have
jobs, there will be commercial opportunities because right
now, it’s really only a tiny bit of commerce, mostly artisanal
mining but very little agriculture.
“Because there will be a mine there that buys stuff, these
communities will be able to build farms that can sell their
product closely, because it’s too far away to send it to Dakar.
“As long as we manage it properly, we will have a really
strong, positive economic impact on the area. It’s a win-win for
everybody – our shareholders, as well as the local community
and government – we believe this mine will be here for a very
long time.”
Chesser chairman Mark Connelly with senior project geologist
Daniel Slowen
Silvercorp Metals Inc is the largest single shareholder in
Chesser. Chairman Rui Feng is pictured here inspecting some
core from last year’s drilling campaign
Page 40
It was a happy homecoming to Mako for former
Toro Gold chairman Mark Connelly and company
co-founder Boubacar Thera
oro was acquired by established West African producer
TResolute Mining Ltd in 2019 and neither Connelly nor
Thera had visited the fully fledged 2 mtpa operation since
handing over the keys to their “baby”.
For Thera, a Malian national, Mako represents everything
which is great about Senegal’s budding resources industry.
“We started this as a greenfield [project] in 2009, made the
discovery, we did the fundraising and we built the mine in a
very short time,” Thera told GMJ.
“This means Senegal is a really nice place to do business.
They have put in place a very attractive mining code, we
always had the full assistance of the Government.”
With Diamba Sud leading the race to become the country’s
next operating gold mine, Thera urged other junior explorers
to consider opportunities in Senegal, especially at a time
when neighbouring countries in West Africa are enduring
prolonged periods of political instability.
“Senegal is a very stable country, there has never been a
coup d’état, the institution is very strong and the logistics are
fantastic,” he said.
“It has been a troubled period for West Africa, but Senegal
has never had any terrorism attacks and the military
gendarme are doing a very good job around the border.
Senegal is very safe place.”
Chesser has initiated a number of community engagement
programmes for the nearby Gamba-Gamba village,
including a new access bridge and medical centre Mark Connelly and Boubacar Thera at the Mako gold mine
Page 41
AFRICA
Toubani pivots to the ASX
by Fraser Palamara
oubani Resources Inc chief executive Danny Callow says significantly progressed. The exploration project contains a
Twaning interest from North American funds encouraged 1.7 moz @ 0.86 g/t gold measured and inferred resource, a
the TSX-V listed explorer to pursue a dual listing on the ASX. 1.43 moz @ 1.06 g/t inferred resource and a 1.23 moz @ 0.87
“We’ve been on the Canadian exchange for a long time,” g/t proven and probable resource.
Callow told GMJ. “We’ve seen a drop off in accessible Kobada has also already undergone feasibility studies and
investment or cash available on that side and over the last holds a valid mining licence until 2045. Toubani will spend the
two years, our story seems to have attracted a lot of attention IPO funds over the next year on infill drilling to lift Kobada’s
down in Australia.” reserves and resources.
Toubani, a West African gold explorer, began trading on the Callow said the advanced nature of Kobada put the company
ASX at 20c/share in November after raising $6.5 million. in a “unique” position to sustain interest from Aussie investors
Company shares on the Toronto exchange have struggled as the company got to work.
over the past six months to break past a $C0.20 valuation. “We’ve got a fascinating story here where we already have
Callow felt ASX investors would provide a better judgement 3.2 moz, which in many cases would be considered enough
for Toubani’s flagship Kobada gold project in Mali. to get going,” he said. “Apart from the resource, we also have
“The Australian investor market is a lot more savvy when a BFS in place, showing compelling economics.
it comes to understanding West Africa and gold,” he said. “We’re in this unique position as while we are very focused
“We’ve certainly seen a much stronger showing of West on growing the exploration ounces over the next couple of
African gold stocks on the Australian exchange than any other years, when we do get to a position where the shareholders
exchange worldwide. and board believe we can move pretty quickly in taking this
“[Dual listing] was a fairly logical step and as we’ve been from exploration through to development and construction. I
putting the bookbuild together for this, there’s been significant think that’s quite a unique selling proposition we have over a
support from Australian investors on this story.” pure exploration play.”
For a project debuting on the ASX, Kobada is already Toubani will focus the drill bit to the northern side of its
tenements, where Callow is confident of replicating success
seen by the AIM-listed Cora Gold in uncovering higher grades.
“I think we have an opportunity to improve the grade as we
move more to the north on the property,” he said. “That’s really
backed up by our neighbours Cora Gold, who are effectively
exploring the same shear zones as us, but at a slightly higher
grade.
“I think our exploration strategy will help give flexibility for
when we do bring this mine into production…the flexibility to
target high-grade areas and maybe bring on production in a
different way, that will put us in a position in a couple of years
to mine those higher grades and potentially more ounces.”
Kobada’s feasibility study delineated 1.2 moz gold produced
at AISC of $US972/oz for a NPV of $US355 million and IRR of
37.6% with 2.3 years payback. These numbers were crunched
using a gold price of $US1,750/oz. At the time of print, prices
on the spot market were trading slightly higher.
Heading into 2023, Callow was confident of an Australian-
backed re-rating of the Kobada project once the company hits
the bourse.
“This has been a about a 5-6 month journey to move to this
listing,” he said. “I’m seeing investors that certainly understand
Neighbouring gold developers to Toubani in Mali include Marvel the value accretive part of this, and I really hope that as we
Gold Ltd, Resolute Mining Ltd and B2Gold Corp move forward and generate the news flow, we will start to see
us rerate to a level that certainly is aligned with our peers.”
Page 42
Page 42
Mako hunts replica deposits
by Michael Washbourne
ako Gold Ltd has turned to an exploration technique
Mwhich proved successful for fellow West African
explorers in a bid to find replicas of the flagship Tchaga and
Gogbala deposits at its Napie project in Cote d’Ivoire.
Exploration at Napie – hosted along the same belt as Tietto
Minerals Ltd’s newly minted Abujar gold mine – resumed
in November following what Mako managing director Peter
Ledwidge described as a “particularly long wet season”.
Unlike previous campaigns, the company is using auger
drilling to narrow down large soil anomalies for further
resource drilling and unlock the district-scale potential of the
project.
Mako is expected to complete some 25,000m of drilling with
the aim of locating the similar auger signatures to the Tchaga
and Gogbala deposits which host an inferred 868,000oz
@ 1.2 g/t gold resource. The programme is fully funded
following a $3.1 million placement corner-stoned by major
Mako is undertaking auger drilling at its Korhogo (pictured) and
shareholder Dundee Goodman Merchant Partners.
Napie projects in Cote d’Ivoire
“We have been looking at the tools in our toolbox to go and
find the next 900,000oz at Napie because we know what
we have right now is not going to be enough to start a new auger drilling. We think it should clearly set out that we’ve
mine,” Ledwidge told GMJ. got another one or two Tchagas or Gogbalas on the project.”
“Auger has worked really well for companies like Predictive With the auger programme requiring supervision of one
Discovery [Ltd] and Golden Rim [Resources Ltd], so with the geologist, Mako has deployed the rest of its in-country
limited funds we have right now, we think the time is right to exploration team elsewhere at Napie, as well as to the
be doing this large auger programme to try and find another nearby Korhogo project, to map and rock chip sample the
Tchaga, or Gogbala or two. greenstone/granite contact for associated pegmatites.
“We think it’s a really good approach and it will use the “It’s worth having a look for any other commodities on our
money in a very conservative yet effective method.” permit, even if all we do is build up our base knowledge of
Should the auger programme deliver favourable results, the project,” Ledwidge said.
Mako will almost certainly roll over into a new RC drilling Mako now owns 90% of the Napie project, having reached
campaign at Napie. First assays were expected in late agreement with Perseus to purchase the established
December. gold miner’s remaining 39% interest for an initial equity
Despite some initial reservations about the niche exploration consideration of 13.8 million shares for a 2.94% stake in
technique, Ledwidge is now confident that auger drilling – the junior explorer. Two separate payments of $2.4 million
also deployed by previous project owner Perseus Mining Ltd, in cash or scrip will be handed over upon delineation of 1
albeit not to any great extent – will unlock new information moz measured and indicated resources and the first sale of
about Napie’s geology. gold doré.
“I’ve never been a big fan of auger drilling before, but I think Ledwidge said having “a bigger piece of the pie” would
this is a situation where it can really help us pinpoint these benefit his company in the long term.
targets,” he said. “No matter how much I tried to explain that 75% [total project
“If the orientation survey doesn’t pick up a signature on interest under the original farm-in JV agreement with Perseus]
Gogbala and Tchaga, then that tells you auger probably isn’t is still quite a bit of something, people had a negative view on
going to be a useful tool for us, but we’ve seen from some that,” he said. “We’ve still got the 10% shareholder from the
of the work Perseus has done that it kind of lines up with the previous JV, who is a pretty high-powered business person
anomalies we’re getting elsewhere. in Cote d’Ivoire. We’re pretty happy having a shareholder
“If the market picks up a little bit in the new year, people like that who holds some influence in the country. We think it
should be pretty enthused by what we accomplish with that will make things go even smoother for us in the future.”
Page 43
AFRICA
Turaco
reins in
the spending
by Yvette Ogilvie
ith equity markets recoiling from gold and West Africa,
WTuraco Gold Ltd is winding back its exploration spending.
“We were very aggressive in the first six months of 2022 and
did a lot of drilling, but now with the market and the share price,
we’ll be a little bit more prudent with our expenditure,” Turaco
managing director Justin Tremain told GMJ. Auger and RC drilling have restarted following the wet season
“I’m sure the appetite for gold will return at some point and we
will make sure we are well positioned for that.” “It’s one of the best places in the world to be exploring plus-1 moz
At the end of the recent September quarter, Turaco had available discoveries and it’s very cost-effective exploration,” he said.
funding of just under $5.5 million, with Tremain noting the “There’s been plenty of success stories to come out of West
company did not plan to undertake a capital raise in the next year. Africa, typically more to the north in Burkina Faso over the last 20
Considering its conservative approach, Turaco will direct most years but that has become a very challenging place to operate.
of its exploration activities to the Eburnea project in Côte d’Ivoire, “All of those success stories are very large companies, and they
as the company gears up to release a maiden resource for the are looking to continue to grow, and they’ve got their eyes on Côte
Satama discovery. d’Ivoire.
“In the last 6-9 months, we have done about 20,000m of drilling “The Government is very supportive of exploration and mining
over a gold-in-soil anomaly and made a significant discovery and that’s why there have been 4-5 mines developed over
there [Satama], drilling continuous gold mineralisation from the last five years and there is another 2-3 under feasibility or
surface across about 2km of strike,” Tremain said. development at the moment.”
Following the end of the wet season in October, Turaco However, Tremain acknowledged some limitations in Cote
restarted exploration activities at the project, including auger d’Ivoire relating to the ongoing conflict in neighbouring Burkina
and RC drilling. Tremain hopes the auger drilling, conducted Faso.
over geophysical targets parallel to the area drilled at Satama,
During the September quarter, no field exploration activities were
will be able to demonstrate the ability to grow the resource.
undertaken at the Ferke project due to its proximity to the Burkina
The rest of its projects will take a back seat in the meantime, Faso border and the Comoé National Park.
except for Tongan North, which Turaco is planning to focus on in
“Probably the biggest challenge is trying to differentiate Côte
2023 following up on the recent auger results of up to 27 g/t gold.
d’Ivoire from the general West Africa perceived risk, which is
The company has a total of four projects, all in Côte d’Ivoire, around the government stability in the north and not the south,
where Tremain is confident of finding more gold. where Côte d’Ivoire is,” Tremain said.
While the Tongan North project may also lie near the border to
Burkina Faso, Tremain said the company was comfortable to
exploring there.
“I guess it’s a little bit different in that the area, [Tongan North] is
all under crop so it’s all open ground and it’s not as isolated as the
Ferke project,” he said.
Another challenge Tremain noted of operating within Cote d’Ivoire
was attracting skilled labour.
“It’s a lot more challenging to get people to travel to Cote d’Ivoire
but we are fortunate enough that we have got a team that has To present, exhibit or attend as a delegate, please contact Angelique Julien
Turaco will direct most of its exploration efforts towards the been together for a number of years now,” he said. on (+61) 8 9321 0355 or email [email protected]
Eburnea project
Page 44
Page 44
OPEN
REGISTRATION
6 - 8 Sept 2023
Perth, Western Australia
View sponsorship
opportunities
Book your early
bird rate!
2023 SPONSORS AND SUPPORTERS TO DATE:
To present, exhibit or attend as a delegate, please contact Angelique Julien
on (+61) 8 9321 0355 or email [email protected]
africadownunderconference.com
DRILL BITS
CARNAVALE PREPARES ORA BANDA HITS The two holes returned hits of 20m @ 2.1 g/t gold from 42m
and 7m @ 1.9 g/t from 33m (including 3m @ 3.7 g/t from
Maiden RC drilling success on its Ora Banda South gold
51m). The two holes followed on from an earlier programme
project has given Carnavale Resources Ltd a second
which defined 300m strike through intercepts of 84m @ 2.5
prospective exploration asset in its portfolio.
g/t, 12m @ 6.5 g/t and 11m @ 7.8 g/t.
Much of Carnavale’s exploration budget is dedicated to
The 19-hole programme – the first stage of a wider 7,800m
its Kookynie project near Leonora. However, after initial
campaign which will include infill and extensional drilling
encouragement from aircore drilling earlier in the year, the
– is targeting shallow mineralisation to support open pit
company is committing more funds to Ora Banda, near
evaluation. The second stage will extend the oxide structure
Kambalda.
along strike to the north-east while the third phase will
Results from the 10-hole programme across a 2.1km strike
grow plus-5 g/t mineralisation down dip to demonstrate
length on the Carnage prospect included hits of 4m @ 30.2
underground potential.
g/t gold from 44m, 7m @ 5.95 g/t from 80m, 8m @ 2.74 g/t
“These first assay results are a positive start to the
from 48m, 4m @ 2.69 g/t from 36m, 12m @ 0.43 g/t from
programme,” Odyssey managing director Matt Briggs said.
44m and 12m @ 0.33 g/t from 40m.
“These holes demonstrate strong supergene gold above
Carnavale chief executive
the high-grade shoot at the Highway Zone supporting
Humphrey Hale said the
the potential of open pit mining. Extensions of the oxide
programme was the first time
mineralisation have been drilled a further 160m to the east
Carnage had been tested.
as part of the current programme.
“Previous explorers ignored this
“Quartz veining and sulphides have been intersected in the
area as the project area is covered
targeted position in the drilling.”
by transported material overlying
a sedimentary sequence,” he said.
“The excellent aircore programmes FALCON’S VIKING TREASURE
have defined a substantial
Falcon Metals Ltd has been given early encouragement from
gold anomaly with associated its Viking gold project near Norseman, Western Australia, with
complimentary geochemistry, a
multiple holes intersecting high-grade gold.
major shear and a newly mapped
Falcon is drilling 10 holes for 1,691m at Viking, 30km south-east
intrusion.”
of Norseman. The first results from the programme included hits
Hale said the prospect was of 6m @ 1.02 g/t gold from 93m (including 1m @ 5.01 g/t), 6m @
analogous with the plus-2.5 moz
Carnavale’s Humphrey Hale 5.11 g/t from 141m (including 1m @ 28.5 g/t), 3m @ 6.07 g/t from
assesses the company’s @ plus-4 g/t gold Invincible mine at 43m (including 1m @ 13.4 g/t) and 4m @ 1.87 g/t from 124m
drilling activity Gold Fields Ltd’s St Ives operation. (including 1m @ 5.01 g/t).
Managing director Tim Markwell said the drilling had successfully
tested primary mineralisation down-dip of the oxide zone intercepts
ODYSSEY ON HIGHWAY JOURNEY at the Beaker 1 and Beaker 2 prospects and indicated the potential
for a new target zone to the south-east of Beaker 2. This has given
Odyssey Gold Ltd has hit wide zones of gold mineralisation
Falcon encouragement to expand the company’s plans.
in the first two holes of a 19-hole RC programme at the
“With the confirmation of both high-grade primary mineralisation
Highway Zone prospect at its Tuckanarra project in the
at depth and the continuity of the mineralised shear zones
Murchison district, Western Australia.
A WORLD OF INTEGRATED As a global engineering and project delivery organisation, we provide
SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS specialist services in the development and delivery of mineral resource
studies and projects across the world.
Africa logistics specialists / consolidations / multi-modal /
E: [email protected]
remote site logistics / warehousing / full documentation management / Working in partnership, with trust, integrity and respect.
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projects / freight forwarding / road - air - ocean - charter
W: lycopodium.com
Page 46
63m and 1.9m @ 8.6 g/t from 699m.
The latest results point to the potential to expand Pickle Crow,
given they are from areas intersected more than 200m below
previous drilling.
The Tyson prospect was first identified in October 2021 and
AuTeco has been working to build confidence in the zone ever
since.
AuTeco chief executive Darren Cooke said the results
demonstrated the continuity of a mineralised system which have
never been previously mined.
Falcon Minerals is targeting new zones below known mineralisation at “Not only have we extended the known depth of the vein system
the Beaker 2 prospect on the Viking gold project near Norseman by more than 200 vertical metres, but the intersection of 1,020 g/t
gold is the highest-grade intersection drilled by AuTeco to date,”
along strike, we have decided to commence a diamond drilling he said.
programme in the coming weeks,” Markwell said. “This will “The Tyson result is reminiscent of the intersections at Northern
improve our understanding of the potential scale of the mineralised Star [Resources Ltd’s] Jundee mine. Two rigs [are] planned to
shears, and the controls relating to the higher-grade zones within drill for the remainder of 2022.”
the shears.”
The company is now planning a three-hole diamond programme TOMBOLA PULLS OUT HIGH GRADES
for drilling later in the financial year.
Tombola Gold Ltd has had its initial interpretation of the Golden
“Norseman is an increasingly exciting region for mineral exploration
Mile project confirmed with a first diamond hole returning high-
and Falcon is pleased with the emergence of Viking as a project of
grade values.
significance,” Markwell said.
Tombola has been testing the Mt Scheelite target on its Golden
Mile complex in Cloncurry, Queensland, since mid-2022 with a
TYSON PUNCHES ABOVE ITS WEIGHT programme of 24 RC holes for 2,060m returning best hits of 21m
AuTeco Minerals Ltd appears set to expand its 2.23 moz gold @ 3.27 g/t gold from 34m (including 11.53 g/t), 6m @ 6.8 g/t from
resource after reporting a bonanza hit from drilling outside the 47m, 18m @ 5.1 g/t from 23m and 14m @ 16.22 g/t.
current resource for its Pickle Crow project in Ontario, Canada. Assays from the first diamond hole at Mt Scheelite confirmed the
Multiple high-grade veins were uncovered via drilling on the high-grade nature of the mineralisation, returning an intersection
Tyson discovery, returning intercepts of 0.4m @ 1,020 g/t gold of 15m @ 6.96 g/t from 28m.
from 809m, 0.4m @ 71.9 g/t from 126.1m, 0.4m @ 29.8 g/t from For Tombola, the assays confirmed the opportunity for Mt
Scheelite to feed into mining plans based on the Comstock,
Shamrock/Falcon and Mt Freda orebodies.
“At this early stage, Mt Scheelite is confirming the potential to build
into the company’s future production planning with continued
positive results being returned,” Tombola managing director
Byron Miles said. “We are particularly excited as Mt Scheelite is
next door to the Comstock and Shamrock operating mines.”
AuTeco’s Pickle Crow project in Canada continues to grow
As a global engineering and project delivery organisation, we provide
specialist services in the development and delivery of mineral resource
studies and projects across the world.
E: [email protected] Working in partnership, with trust, integrity and respect.
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Page 47
MLG OZ REMAINS IN FIELDS OF GOLD
Gold Fields Ltd awarded a new contract, plus two extensions to
existing works, to MLG Oz Ltd in November.
MLG is expecting an additional $15 million in revenue for FY23
following a new agreement to service Gold Fields’ Barren Lands
open pit at the Agnew gold mine, north of Kalgoorlie. The expanded
scope of works contract will see MLG provide heavy earthworks to
help establish the new pit.
Elsewhere at Agnew, Gold Fields has extended an existing
agreement with MLG for site services and haulage for an additional
three years. This will see MLG stay at Agnew for the next 16 years.
MLG also received a three-year extension for the same nature of
works at Gold Fields’ St Ives operations south of Kalgoorlie. Gold
Perenti managing director Mark Norwell with ABB process
Fields has the opportunity to extend the site services and haulage
industries division president Joachim Braun
contract for another two years. MLG will remain at St Ives for at
least the next nine years.
for powerful industry results.
“We are very proud to continue to support Gold Fields at their St
Ives and Agnew operations extending what has, and continues “ABB and Perenti share a vision to develop energy-efficient
to be, a long and rewarding relationship,” MLG managing director solutions for the mining industry,” he said. “By combining our
Murray Leahy said. experience across mining operations and digital solutions with
ABB’s leading technologies, we are focused on supporting
the decarbonisation of mining through electrification. We look
PERENTI AND ABB SPARK UP A COLLABORATION forward to working with ABB on this exciting new venture.”
Perenti Global Ltd and ABB have struck up a partnership to put ABB process industries division president Joachim Braun
a “team of experts” to work on decarbonising the mining industry. said he has witnessed an eagerness from end users in the
The companies inked the collaborative agreement in November mining industry to decarbonise operations.
to combine technology and skills expertise towards electrifying “Mining customers are committed to facing environmental,
mining operations. societal and economic challenges head on as they aim to
Experts from the partnered companies will ultimately recommend decarbonise mining operations,” he said. “With ABB’s sector
a number of strategies and policies to the resources industry in leading position in electric-mine technology development, and
support of net zero-emission underground and open pit mining. Perenti’s excellence and experience in mine development
Perenti brings to the table expertise in mining and technical and mine operations, the scope of this collaboration is a
skills, while ABB will provide the technological know-how and perfect opportunity to make real progress in providing electric
innovation. The collaboration comes after ABB made open calls solutions that will decarbonise the industry.”
to the industry, seeking partnerships to support zero-emission
mining. LUCKY TALISMAN FINDS RESOLUTION
ABB also launched “eMine portfolio”, ABB Ability, in 2021 to
Resolution Drilling Pty Ltd has been contracted by Talisman
provide a slew of technology solutions to help electrify mine sites.
Mining Ltd to drill at the Central Lachlan copper-gold project in
Perenti managing director Mark Norwell said the breadth of New South Wales.
knowledge between the two companies would pave the way
A WORLD OF INTEGRATED As a global engineering and project delivery organisation, we provide
SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS specialist services in the development and delivery of mineral resource
studies and projects across the world.
Africa logistics specialists / consolidations / multi-modal /
E: [email protected]
remote site logistics / warehousing / full documentation management / Working in partnership, with trust, integrity and respect.
T: + 61 8 6210 5222
projects / freight forwarding / road - air - ocean - charter
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Page 48
Resolution will undertake roughly 8,000m of RC drilling and 600m Japanese company displayed close to 40 pieces of equipment
of diamond drilling to test high-priority geophysical anomalies to exhibit advancements in smart construction, digitisation, and
across four tenements. electrification.
Talisman hope to identify massive sulphide mineralisation, Komatsu management said the company’s PC210E 20t battery
believed to be the source of observed conductive responses. The electric excavator was the key attraction for visitors to the
drill programme was expected to begin by mid-January. stand. The new automated construction machine is fully battery
Resolution was chosen for its expertise in New South Wales, as the powered and in the advanced stages of testing.
company is locally based in the Parkes area. The drilling provider Purveyors of the trade fair also had the opportunity to see
also has access to a range of “specialised” equipment. the PC4000-11 electric drive excavator up close. The zero-
Talisman chief executive Shaun Vokes was eager to begin the drill emission model features an Argus PLM payload meter which
programme but remained mindful of potentially adverse weather can measure bucket payloads.
conditions which could affect the exploration schedule. Other Komatsu models on display included dozers, excavators,
“We are very pleased to have secured access to a drill rig from early dump trucks and boom change systems, including the PC950-
next year, which means we can hit the ground running as soon as 11 hydraulic excavator which will hit the Japanese and European
weather conditions are favourable,” Vokes said in November. “The markets in FY23.
prolonged intense rainfall and widespread flooding in the central “It’s truly exciting to see industry really picking up the pace now
west of New South Wales during 2022 has been exceptionally on adoption of electric equipment, and to be able to continue
frustrating for all stakeholders – making virtually all of our high- to expand the range of machines we offer with electric power,
priority exploration areas inaccessible for drilling.” without compromising on productivity,” Komatsu Australia
executive general
manager construction
METAROCK TAKES HOME ROSY CONTRACT Dean Gaedtke said.
MMG Ltd has enlisted PYBAR Mining Services Pty Ltd, a Metarock “We’ve sold over 1,300
Group Ltd subsidiary, to service the Rosebery mine.
electric drive trucks in
PYBAR will provide the supply, delivery, and application of Australia and over 380
fibrecrete and cement fill over the course of a three-year fixed term electric mining excavators
at the underground Tasmanian mine. globally. Demand for these
Works will begin in April and are expected to bring in an annual game-changing machines
$18 million in revenue for Metarock. The contract is estimated to is only growing.
create 25 new employment opportunities across a range of roles “Our strong focus on smart
within PYBAR. construction was definitely
The Rosebery mine has been continually operating for more than a drawcard to our stand –
85 years, producing gold doré, zinc, copper and lead concentrates. and also signals Komatsu’s
commitment to reaching
zero carbon emissions by
KOMATSU ENERGISES TRADE SHOW 2050 and halving our CO2
Mining equipment manufacturer Komatsu Ltd flaunted an emissions from product
electric future at the 2022 bauma trade fair in Munich. operations from our 2010
levels.”
Komatsu showed off a fleet of battery-powered heavy services
vehicles, including models not yet available to end users. The Komatsu Australia/New Zealand
staff at the bauma trade show
As a global engineering and project delivery organisation, we provide
specialist services in the development and delivery of mineral resource
studies and projects across the world.
E: [email protected] Working in partnership, with trust, integrity and respect.
T: + 61 8 6210 5222
W: lycopodium.com
Page 49
HIDDEN TREASURE
Gold industry wows
with safety skills
I t certainly wasn’t the circus, but it was just as exciting. volunteers. The event allowed for up to 4,000 members of
the public to spectate the emergency response teams hard
Perth’s Langley Park hosted resource industry heroes over
two days in November at the annual Mining Emergency at work on November 26 and 27.
Response Competition. Newmont Australia’s Boddington team won gold for the
Teams representing various companies in the mining road crash and vertical rescue scenarios. The Boddington
industry were tested in staged scenarios; putting out fires response team also came runner up in overall first aid and
and saving “victims” of injury from dizzying heights and best medic, and third place in hazardous materials, overall
damaged cars. breathing apparatus and overall best team.
The 12th edition of the non-profit competition welcomed Other teams from the gold industry included Anglo Gold
more than 15 emergency response teams and 150 industry Ashanti Ltd, Newcrest Mining Ltd, Newmont Asia Pacific,
Northern Star Resources
Ltd, Westgold Resources
Ltd, and South32 Ltd.
Fortescue Metals Group
Ltd’s Chichester squad
was crowned king on the
day, taking home best
overall team.
The annual competition
is organised by founding
sponsors Paull & Warner
Resources, Red Earth
Health Solutions and
Breight Group.
INDEX
Agnico Eagle 4 De Grey 4, 22-23, 25-26 Lynas 19 Resolute 36, 39, 42
Alchemy 7 Desoto 30 Resolution 48-49
Astral 23 Dreadnought 7 Mako 43 Rio Tinto 6, 8
Ausgold 34 Marvel 42 Rox 6, 16
AuTeco 47 Endeavour 36 Miramar 22
Evolution 12 Musgrave 23 Santana 23
B2Gold 42 St Barbara 10, 16
Barrick 4, 37 Falcon 46 Newcrest 32
Breaker 7, 23 Firefinch 18 Northern Star 8, 10 Talisman 48-49
Tietto 23, 35, 43
Calidus 7 Genesis 10 Odyssey 46 Tombola 47
Cannon 16 Genmin 19 Toubani 42
Capricorn 29 Global Lithium 7 Perenti 48 Turaco 44
Carnavale 46 Golden Rim 43 Perseus 18, 21, 26-27,
ChemX 19 Gold Fields 4, 48 35, 36, 43 West African 18, 20-21, 35
Chesser 36-41 Gold Road 25, 28 Predictive 22, 30, 43 Woodside 36
Cora 42 Greatland 32
Ramelius 14
Dacian 10 Kin 10 Regis 19, 22, 28-29
Page 50
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