Lunnon Metals has entered into a 90-day negotiation period with St Ives to determine the commercial terms for processing ore from the Lady Herial gold deposit at the Lefroy gold plant in Western Australia.
The agreement, which modifies St Ives’ existing pre-emptive rights over the deposit, allows both parties to collaborate on a potential sale and treatment arrangement.
A mineral resource estimate and metallurgical test work will be provided by Lunnon Metals for Gold Fields to review before the negotiation period commences.
If a deal is not reached within 90 days, Lunnon Metals will be free to engage with other parties for up to 120 days.
Should no agreement be reached in that timeframe, discussions between Lunnon Metals and Gold Fields would resume for an additional 90 days.
“We would like to thank Gold Fields for agreeing to work collaboratively with us as we seek to secure the future treatment of our exciting, high-grade Lady Herial gold deposit,” Lunnon Metals managing director Edmund Ainscough said.
“The Lefroy gold plant is without doubt the most efficient and most logical destination for any future material and we look forward to negotiating mutually beneficial terms with Gold Fields.”
The Lefroy gold plant is located just 7km from the Lady Herial deposit along an existing haulage route, offering an efficient processing solution for the project.
Lady Herial is a shallow gold deposit, with the potential to deliver low strip ratios in any future open pit. The test program recorded at the site returned an average gold recovery of 95 per cent, with results suggesting the presence of a strong coarse gold component.
Lunnon Metals and St Ives will explore the potential for further recovery improvements through gravity separation.
Gold Fields’ St Ives operation produced 331,200 ounces of gold in 2024, while its Lefroy gold plant processes approximately four million tonnes per annum of ore from various deposits, including Invincible, Hamlet and Neptune.
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