A second stage tolling operation is underway as the company also looks to replicate its toll treating success at the much larger Munda gold deposit in the same region.
A dump truck operating at Auric’s Jeffrey’s Find operation near Norseman.Supplied
Auric’s statutory maiden profit for the 2023 calendar year was $1.31 million,which was adjusted upwards to A$2.85 million after accounting for about $1.53 million in “tenement expenditure write offs” that were a non-cash expense.
The favourable gold price trend,which sent the price of the precious yellow metal soaring to a then record peak of US$2066 (~A$3161) per ounce at the end of December 2023 saw the company pump out 9741 ounces of gold at an extraordinary average price of A$3006 per ounce.
“Six months of mining generated almost $10 million in surplus cash for Auric and its JV partner,BML Ventures Pty Ltd of Kalgoorlie.”
Auric Mining managing director Mark English
Auric Mining managing director Mark English said:“Six months of mining generated almost $10 million in surplus cash for Auric and its JV partner,BML Ventures Pty Ltd of Kalgoorlie. The past 12 months has seen us become self-funding for 2024.”
In what could be described as an example of impeccable timing – and perhaps even good fortune - the company says it generated $10m in surplus cash for itself and its mining partner BML Ventures in just six months from its Stage-1 mining operation at Jeffreys Find. During the year two milling campaigns processed a total of 175,865 dry tonnes of ore at a solid overall average grade of 1.86g/t gold.
The company has already kicked off a second stage of mining at Jeffreys Find with grade control drilling being completed in January and first ore processing is scheduled for mid-late April.
The company is planning to upscale its mining with a new revised pit shell based on a gold price of A$2900 an ounce,well under today’s spot price of $3327. Ore will be being hauled to the Greenfields mill at Coolgardie,38km south-west of Kalgoorlie on the Great Eastern Highway,where gold can be poured and sent to the Perth Mint for sale.
The Jeffrey’s Find project is a planned short-life operation which is due to be completed in early 2025. Cash derived from Jeffreys is slated to fund the development of a new operation at its Munda project,near Widgiemooltha,91km north of Norseman.
Auric is on a roll with its small open pit toll treating mining model and its 2023 result that left the company with a cash surplus of just over $4m sets it apart from many other small explorers out there who are still living hand to mouth from capital raise to capital raise.
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