3 months ago
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Management has plans to strip the underground floor at Henty to allow access for larger trucks in a bid to boost haul loads, carting more ore out of the portal and boosting the size of work areas. A second twin-boom jumbo rig has returned to site to increase its push forward with the underground development of the mine.
In a move in line with the current life-of-mine plan, management decided to increase the potential for a further 12,800 ounces of gold with its decision to re-locate its underground explosives magazine, with the move now well advanced.
Kaiser Reef managing director Jonathan Downes said: “This has been a transformational quarter for Kaiser, headlined by the acquisition of the Henty gold mine in Tasmania. We are very pleased with the transition overall and how the Henty team has come on board with Kaiser. Henty produced over 25,000 ounces for the financial year, and, after all capital spend, had a positive cashflow of approximately $30M.”
The company appears to have nabbed an enviable asset in Henty in the reciprocal deal with 19.99 per cent stakeholder Catalyst, providing both companies with an opportunity to lift production ounces due to the two firms forging of an agreement for a 50/50 joint venture (JV) at Kaiser’s Maldon processing plant.
The JV allows for Catalyst to co-develop the plant, which is strategically placed between Victoria’s gold-rich regions around Bendigo and Ballarat.
Increasing the capacity of the Maldon plant could fire up both firms’ processing plans, allowing Kaiser to feed gold-bearing ore from its existing A1 gold mine.
Meanwhile, Catalyst could push material into the plant from its Four Eagles project north of Bendigo, which has 70,000 ounces gold at a stunning 26g/t in its Boyd’s Dam project.
Kaiser now has a five-year mine plan for Henty, based on a current mineral resource of 4.1m tonnes at 3.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 449,000 ounces. This is supported by current ore reserves of 1.2mt going 4g/t for 154,000 ounces gold.
The mine has proven to be a viable gold operation with historical production of 1.4M ounces at a rock-solid 8.9g/t gold. Kaiser will benefit greatly from Catalyst recently investing in drill platforms, tailings facilities and underground fleet equipment before the sale took place.
Kaiser believes Henty also has tremendous scope for near-mine exploration and development success too, aided by some significant infrastructure, including underground and surface workshops, an administration complex and a coveted 300,000-tonne-per-annum carbon-in-leach processing plant. The plant is fully permitted to 2030.
The mine comes with the twin benefits of hydro-generated grid power and renewed tailings storage capacity.
Kaiser bankrolled the deal to pick up Henty with a successful $30M share placement, in addition to a $10M funding package from Auramet International, which has $2m remaining in undrawn funds. Combined with its stash of cash in the bank, it is well-placed for working capital.
Kaiser’s decision to move with speed on the Henty project offers a compelling opportunity to continue generating significant cash flow. The company will no doubt be looking to continue pumping out the as much of the precious yellow metal as it can at today’s sky-high price of A$5087 per golden ounce.
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