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Auric making hay in WA while gold price shines
Brought to you by BULLS N’ BEARS
By James Pearson
Auric Mining is preparing for another big payday from its money-making Jeffrey’s Find project near Norseman in Western Australia, with a second 150,000-tonne campaign for the year ahead of schedule as the gold price continues to soar.
The joint venture (JV) it shares with BML Ventures has already delivered 75,600 tonnes to the Greenfields Mill for processing and a further 27,000 tonnes is sitting on the run of mine (ROM) pad awaiting transport for toll milling.
Auric Mining has been working away at its Jeffreys Find pit near Norseman around the clock.
It comes as the Australian gold price recently touched new highs, an increase of some 20 per cent on last year at $3652 an ounce. It is still holding strong today at about $3630 an ounce.
Management says the campaign is now so far ahead of plan that the JV expects its work to be completed by September, leaving enough time to mine and process an additional 100,000 tonnes before year’s-end.
‘We are fortunate to be pouring gold as prices rise, reaching around $3600 an ounce this year.’
Auric Mining managing director Mark English
The partnership has a deal with Greenfields to process 300,000 tonnes of ore, meaning it will have to find alternative toll treating facilities for the remaining 100,000 tonnes.
Auric Mining managing director Mark English said: “We are fortunate to be pouring gold as prices rise, reaching around $3600 an ounce this year, significantly higher than last year’s peak of $3,000 an ounce. This favourable price movement will result in cash surpluses for Auric and our joint venture partner, exceeding our budgeted expectations.”
English estimates that processing the second 150,000-tonne parcel for the year will generate $25 million in gold sales for the JV and he expected the company’s first financial distribution from the campaign to be delivered within a month – with more cash to follow.
Just three weeks ago, Auric confirmed it had received a cash distribution of $2 million from the first campaign earlier in the year, after collecting $4.7 million last year.
The JV sees BML handling all mining, trucking and milling costs, in addition to related expenses. Post-gold sales, the partners will again deduct all costs before equally splitting the surplus cash proceeds and distributions will then be made following mutual agreement.
Earlier this week, Auric paved the way clear for developing an open pit mine at its Munda gold project near Widgiemooltha in WA’s Goldfields region. In a strategic move, the company secured all of the mineral rights for the site down to a depth of 150m for the next eight years by paying $1.2 million to WIN Metals.
Management now plans to initiate a trial pit at the site, with full-scale mining operations expected to start at the beginning of next year, putting it in a rare position among junior mining companies as an owner of two operating mines generating positive cash flow.
The next 12 months should be rosy ones for Auric as cash flows from both Munda and Jeffrey’s Find continue to pour in to take advantage of the all-time high gold prices.
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