Capricorn Metals and Alkane Resources delivered solid gold production in line with expectations during the June 2024 quarter.
Capricorn Metals
Alongside its exploration activities, Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda gold mine produced 26,835 ounces (oz) at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1548/oz during the June quarter, a notable increase from the previous quarter’s 26,017oz.
Capricorn’s June quarter results bring the company’s full year production to 113,007oz, which is within Capricorn’s updated 2023–24 financial year (FY24) production guidance range of 112,000–115,000oz.
“Gold production for Q4 of 26,835 ounces reflects the continued recent focus on increasing material movement out of the Bibra open pit in order to underpin the mining schedule volumes in the medium term,” Capricorn said.
“This earthmoving focus will taper by the end of Q1 and will underpin another strong year of operations at KGP (Karlawinda gold project) in FY25 with gold production expected to be within a guidance range of 110,000–120,000 ounces.”
Capricorn sold 30,404oz of gold at an average price of $3528/oz, generating $107.3 million in revenue with a further 1453oz on hand at the end of the quarter that was valued at $5.1 million.
At Mount Gibson, Capricorn continued installing 400 room accommodation units and associated infrastructure buildings required for the operation, with the development expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
“Tenders were issued during the quarter for mining services, power supply and process plant design contracts with a number of site visits being conducted for potential service providers,” Capricorn said.
“Capricorn’s strategy is to expedite the accommodation village construction, project design and long lead purchasing in parallel with progressive receipt of development and environmental permits where it is expected to be advantageous to the ultimate development schedule and cost to do so.”
Capricorn’s cash and gold on hand at the end of June was $125 million, reflecting a $69.6 million payment to partially close out its gold hedge book.
This brought Capricorn’s total cash build to $24.6 million for the quarter, a slight decrease from the $27.6 million it held at the end of the previous quarter.
The reduction of its gold hedge book by 52,000oz leaves Capricorn with no current gold hedging delivery obligations until December 31 2025.
Alkane Resources
Alkane’s Tomingley gold mine had a solid quarter, producing 17,319oz at an AISC of $1867/oz in line with expectations.
Alkane sold 16,610oz of gold for $53.5 million at an average price of $3219/oz during the quarter.
Tomingley produced 57,217oz for FY24 at an AISC of $2137/oz, bringing the site operating cash flow to $64.8 million.
“This has been a quarter of both strong production performance and a focus on executing our growth projects,” Alkane managing director Nic Earner said. “We are producing stope ore from our new mining area, the underground at Roswell.
“Our expansion capital work continues with the paste plant and processing upgrades, which are on track for commissioning later in the year. We’ve released the five-year plan for Tomingley, which shows our pathway to producing over 100,000oz per year.”
During the quarter, Alkane released a scoping study for its Boda–Kaiser gold-copper project in New South Wales, which put the asset on a path for major development.
“Our recently released scoping study for Boda-Kaiser shows that at current copper and gold prices a large mine and processing facility can be built with strong economic returns,” Earner said.
“Over the next year, our focus at Boda-Kaiser will be regional exploration, environmental studies, increasing our understanding of mining options and discussions with potential strategic partners.
“We look forward to continuing to deliver on these plans.”
Alkane has set its Tomingley FY25 guidance to 70,000–80,000oz production at an AISC of $2400–$2600 per ounce.
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