Kaiser boosts coffers to $43.1M on strong Henty gold production

Doug BrightSponsored
Camera IconKaiser Reef’s twin-boom jumbo being delivered to Union Hill at Maldon in Victoria. Credit: File

Kaiser Reef has delivered another robust quarter of gold production, boosting its cash position by A$13.7 million to a closing balance of A$43.1 million while posting solid gold production from both its flagship Henty gold mine in Tasmania and its Maldon mine in Victoria.

The company produced 6946 ounces of gold at its primary Henty operation, along with 6526 ounces of silver poured as a by-product credit and an additional 715 ounces of gold at Maldon.

The performance has underpinned the company’s strong underlying cashflow of $15.9 million before costs related to the A1 mine transition, which has been placed onto care and maintenance, with realised gold sales hitting 8546 ounces at an average price of A$6024 per ounce.

Through its second full quarter under Kaiser ownership, Henty gold production came from 65,765 tonnes of ore processed at a handy 3.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold with a 90.5 per cent recovery.

The mine’s ore reserve also jumped 29 per cent in the quarter to 1.89 million tonnes at 3.28g/t gold for 199,000 ounces of gold, extending mine life beyond six years and backing Kaiser’s target of consistent output above 30,000 ounces per annum by the end of 2026.

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The mineral resource has remained steady at 4.11 million tonnes at 3.32g/t gold for a total of 438,000 ounces of gold. The company successfully tested its processing throughput rate up to 400,000 tonnes per annum - a creditable 33 per cent lift on the plant’s nameplate capacity - while ongoing circuit optimisation is expected to deliver further gains.

A second underground diamond drill rig was deployed for exploration and resource extension, while capital works advanced. The work included relocating the underground magazine - a smart move which unlocked about 12,800 ounces of potential gold production, consistent with the current mine plan – and also commissioned two higher capacity underground trucks, completed a decline bypass, and obtained tailings storage facility approvals.

Henty continues to perform strongly and has had a second strong quarter of production under Kaiser s ownership, with nearly 7,000oz produced and over 7,500 ounces poured, producing robust cash flow. At the same time, we are reinvesting back into the mine with drilling, infrastructure and equipment, targeting a consistent +30koz Au run rate from FY 2026.

Kaiser Reef managing director Brad Valiukas

At Maldon, the focus shifted to unlocking value from historical assets. A diamond drilling program in the Union Hill open pit targeting the Eaglehawk Reef intersected gold mineralisation in 18 of 19 effective holes over a 160-metre strike, confirming grade continuity and high-grade spur veins in unmined extensions below the pit floor.

A standout intercept included 5.8 metres at 5.37g/t gold from 39m, including 2.5m at 10.25g/t gold.

Another hole intercepted 6.9m at 6.05g/t from 30.4m depth, including 1.98m at 16.44 g/t gold from 32.2m and 1.3m going 4.1g/t gold from 35.3m.

These results - and others - support plans for potential underground follow-up to test down-dip extensions of the historically productive Eaglehawk Reef, which yielded an impressive 491,000 ounces before 1926.

Drilling of the Union Hill waste dump was also completed, deploying 163 holes for 2212 metres of drilling. The program sought to verify and build on encouraging results from previous channel sampling, which averaged 0.6g/t gold.

Kaiser has already figured the dump could contain more than 410,000 cubic metres of partly mineralised waste. Final assays from the dump sampling program and grade-tonnage estimates will be available shortly.

Similar investigations were also continued at the 16,000-square-metre Nuggetty waste dump, 1.5km north of the Union Hill pit. Results from 321 waste rock-chip samples over a large area have averaged 1.8g/t gold.

The Porcupine Flat processing plant treated 12,430 tonnes for 715 ounces recovered at 86.8 per cent overall recovery, including mullock from Union Hill, which amounted to 6993 tonnes at 1.26g/t gold. Third-party ore parcels contributed 254 ounces or about 36 per cent of the total gold produced.

The A1 Gold Mine remains on care and maintenance following workforce redundancies, with equipment being relocated to support Union Hill rehabilitation ahead of underground drilling.

Kaiser maintains a strengthening balance sheet as a profitable Eastern States gold producer, with Henty providing reliable output and cash generation while Maldon offers significant near-term exploration and redevelopment upside from its rich historical endowment.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au

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