Finlayson in no rush at Genesis

New Genesis Minerals boss Raleigh Finlayson says the explorer won’t rush development plans with its flagship Leonora gold project but rather build up mineable reserves and wait for WA’s labour crunch to ease.

Speaking after the company announced a 25 per cent jump in its mineral resource to 2 million ounces, the former Saracen Mineral Holdings managing director said he would focus on achieving seven years of minelife (or about 1.2Moz) in reserve before flicking the switch on production.

“Life becomes a little bit easier at seven years,” Mr Finlayson said.

“The moment you turn that mill on, you’re immediately trying to make sure you can fill it, so I want to make sure I’ve got that visibility there.

“But also cognisant that it may take two years for this labour shortage and rampant inflation to wash through.”

Mr Finlayson said his experience at Saracen had taught him the importance of being technically sound before pulling the trigger.

The 409,000oz addition to the company’s resource inventory comes from additional ounces drilled out at the company’s Admiral, Orient Well and Puzzle deposits as well as a contribution from its recent Puzzle North discovery.

Mr Finlayson said the average discovery cost of $27/oz for the new ounces highlighted the proximity of the mineralisation to surface.

The company also noted all deposits remained open at depth and along strike, offering a pipeline of organic growth opportunities.

But Mr Finlayson said the company continued to look at external opportunities while bedding down its internal base plan.

“We continue to really like what we’re doing but we also continue to be very inquisitive about what’s around us,” he said.

Mr Finlayson flagged his intention to join Genesis as its managing director in September and stumped up $7m of his own cash to become a 4.9 per cent shareholder.

The move came after nearly eight years running Saracen prior to its $16b merger with Northern Star Resources last year. He also headed the merged entity briefly, prior to the ascension of Stuart Tonkin in July.

Genesis shares were up 2.5¢, or 1.7 per cent, to $1.50 at the close of trade.