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Auric Mining managing director Mark English said: “Auric is delighted to confirm this toll milling campaign at Black Cat’s Lakewood mill. With ore already stockpiled, haulage commencing in October, and milling scheduled for late October, we are on track to deliver our first gold revenue from the Munda starter pit in November.”
Once the starter pit is done and dusted, Auric will shift gears into planning for the beefier Munda main pit, which is already flexing some serious gold muscle. The company says the larger pit is its golden ticket to scaling up from an opportunistic toll milling business into a more sustainable, mid-tier gold production story.
At a 0.5g/t cut-off, the deposit hosts 3.65 million tonnes at 1.23g/t for 145,000 ounces. Loosen the cut-off to 0.2g/t and the figure swells to 189,000 ounces across indicated and inferred resources.
A 2023 scoping study by Kalgoorlie outfit Minecomp put the broader Munda project through its paces and came away impressed. Using a then-conservative US$2600 (A$3970) gold price, the study outlined 1.716Mt at 2.2g/t, equating to a mouth-watering $76.9 million in undiscounted surplus cash flow.
Fast-forward to today’s sky-high gold prices and those numbers suddenly look like small change. Given the yellow metal is now roaring well above those earlier assumptions, the company is working on an updated scoping study due in the second quarter 2026, which should shed some light on just how big the new payday could be.
Auric has already proven to be a nimble operator of previously unloved assets. Earlier this year, ore from its Jeffreys Find project delivered a glittering $14.5 million profit after a two-year toll milling run.
With gold prices holding firm in Aussie dollar terms, Auric’s timing looks well-judged. The first campaign is expected to unlock immediate cash while building momentum towards a larger development push in 2026.
If the starter pit is the appetiser, then the entree will be served when the main pit comes online. For now, punters will likely be eyeing November closely, when the company’s first cash from Munda is due to hit the table.
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