Latest news with #Ausgold
West Australian
a day ago
- General
- West Australian
Environmentalists opposing Katanning Gold Project ready as public comments open
The environmental group opposing the proposed Katanning gold mine is preparing it submission as public comments open thorugh the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act public portal. The No Mine in Katanning environmentalists said they are studying documents presented by developers Ausgold for the Katanning Gold Project and would have their objections submitted by the time public comments close on the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation website on July 25. The EPBC public portal opened for comments on July 11 and anyone with an opinion has until July 25 to submit their thoughts on the Ausgold plan. The mine is proposed for Badgebup, 30km outside Katanning, and the developers say it could employ up to 350 people. However, the No Mine in Katanning group say they are gathering support from people worried about how it will affect endangered wildlife in the area including Carnaby's black cockatoos and red-tailed phasogales. Documents on the EPBC portal include a fauna survey and risk assessment report by Perth-based environmental consultancy Terrestrial Ecosystems. It put cameras in several locations to record wildlife and found evidence of black cockatoos and phasogales as well as the inland form of the western rosella and western grey kangaroos. It recommended that if there was a referral under the EPBC Act, Ausgold should implement a Vertebrate Fauna Management and Mitigation Plan to outline strategies to minimise the impact on the wildlife and its habitat. A spokesperson for No Mine in Katanning said the mine would severely impact wildlife in the area. 'It is highly likely to have a devastating effect on the natural activities of Carnaby's, red-tailed phascogales and other wildlife,' the spokesperson said. 'Stands of remnant native vegetation within and close to the mine's footprint are Katanning's prime breeding area for endangered Carnaby's black cockatoos. 'They need quiet places to raise their young but this mine, with its 24-7 noise, dust and light pollution, would certainly frighten them away. 'Loss of breeding and food source habitat is the main reason these iconic birds have become endangered, but governments are continuing to allow mining and other developments to destroy crucial habitat.'
ABC News
5 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Concerns raised about impact of new goldmine on Carnaby's black cockatoo population
Environmental groups have raised concerns about the impact a proposed goldmine in WA's Great Southern will have on Carnaby's black cockatoo populations. The Ausgold mine site is about 36 kilometres from the town of Katanning. The proposal includes the clearing of up 50 hectares of native vegetation containing 82 trees with hollows — potentially impacting the breeding, roosting and foraging of the endangered species found only in Western Australia. In the company's submission to the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Ausgold said it was exploring offset options but had yet to finalise them. The options include revegetation of woodlands in the district and cockatoo foraging habitat, as well as the addition of about 100 Cockatubes artificial nesting boxes. Dean Arthurell from the Carnaby's Crusaders said the loss of the trees would have a significant impact. "Offsets just facilitate more clearing and destruction," he said. Mr Arthurell said broader impacts of the project were also worrying with the nearby Woorgabup nature reserve one of three key habitats for the birds in the Katanning shire. "The impact on the population, they'll certainly decline, and it's not only due to the [clearing] proposal but the impacts of light pollution, noise pollution, dust, widening of roads and clearing of ancient trees that we'll see them potentially disappear from these areas for good," he said. Ausgold executive chairman John Dorward said stringent environmental checks were being undertaken at a state and federal level. "The permitting around the environmental front is very rigorous and we have designed the project to minimise our impact as much as we can, so we leave large areas of standing eucalyptus woodland intact," he said. The mine is expected to employ about 250 people during construction and 350 full-time staff when in production. Shire of Katanning president Kristy D'Aprile said the council had been working to ensure the local community could get the most out of the opportunities presented by the project. "We have a very active LCDC [Land Care District Committee] that is working with Ausgold to ensure they protect our environment as best they can." Mr Dorward said the mine was expected to produce about 1.14 million ounces of gold over the life of the mine, based on the drilling completed so far. "We're producing around 140,000 ounces of gold per annum, which is a substantial amount of production, and that will enable us to continue investing to continue expanding that mine life." Mr Dorward said they were aiming to have the first gold pour by late 2027. Ausgold is yet to make a submission to WA's Environmental Protection Authority.
Herald Sun
10-07-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
Australia's next mid-tier goldie raises $35m
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Ausgold secures commitments for $35 million in institutional placement Funds will 'accelerate' path to FID on 2.44Moz Katanning gold project, which could produce up to 140,000 ounces per annum Directors put skin in the game with $150,000 investment Special Report: Ausgold is accelerating along a path to a final investment decision on its 2.44Moz Katanning gold project in WA after raising $35 million in a placement to sophisticated and professional investors. It comes less than a fortnight after the completion by Ausgold (ASX:AUC) of a landmark definitive feasibility study, which projected the operation in WA's Great Southern region would generate 1.14Moz of gold over a 10-year mine life. That would include 140,000ozpa over the operation's first four years, backed by a 1.25Moz ore reserve, with payback of its $355 million pre-production capex expected to take just 13 months at a conservative Aussie dollar gold price of $4300/oz. Bullion today is fetching close to $5100/oz. The proposed mine is on the home straight to a decision to mine after leading offshore and domestic instos, including new and existing shareholders, backed in Ausgold in the placement, completed at 57c per share, a discount of just 7.3% to its last traded price of 61c. That will enable Ausgold to purchase long-lead items, continue exploration at the KGP and acquire freehold land at the site. Some of that is already under option by AUC, with exploration drilling to focus on near-mine and regional targets. More from Ausgold: Katanning all set for feasibility and financing milestones Skin in the game Ausgold directors will subscribe for $150,000 on top of the $35m placement, subject to approval from shareholders. That's typically a positive sign for investors, with the people closest to the fire backing themselves and their company in to deliver. That includes $100,000 from non-exec director Paul Weedon and $50,000 from executive chairman John Dorward, who says Ausgold is navigating a journey directly to Australia's gold mid-tier. 'The recent on-time and on-budget successful completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study for the Katanning Gold Project was a major milestone on the road to Ausgold becoming Australia's next mid-tier gold producer,' Dorward said. 'This new capital stands us in good stead to progress works in relation to our next goal of rapidly accelerating the development of the KGP to a final investment decision and continuing to explore our extensive tenement holding. 'I am delighted with the support of many of our existing shareholders and welcome a few new high-calibre institutional investors to the Ausgold register.' Canadian insto Dundee Corporation subscribed for $2m in the SCP Resource Finance and Euroz Hartleys-led placement, which was co-managed by Canaccord Genuity. That will give the firm a 10.08% stake once the placement is finalised, assuming it obtains approval from Treasurer Jim Chalmers under the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act. This article was developed in collaboration with Ausgold, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. Originally published as Ausgold snares $35 million in placement that sets course to Katanning gold FID
West Australian
09-07-2025
- General
- West Australian
No Mine in Katanning group says endangered species will be further threatened by Ausgold's Badgebup proposal
No Mine in Katanning group says endangered species will be further threatened by Ausgold's Badgebup proposal
News.com.au
24-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Broker Upgrades: WA gold developer becomes Canaccord's latest ‘spec buy'
Canaccord initiates Ausgold with a spec buy, $1.60 price target Key DFS due soon for 3Moz Katanning gold project Coking coal forecasts clipped by Argonaut Gold developers are starting to close the gap on miners as prices remain near record highs after a turbulent fortnight in the Middle East. At ~US$3330/oz, word of a potential ceasefire between Iran and Israel has brought the latest rally for bullion in check. But at current prices, a new gold mine is likely to be paid off faster and generate returns quicker than at any point since 1980, the last time prices were – on an inflation adjusted basis – in this wheelhouse. And analysts are not projecting the crash to be anywhere near as severe as it was in dark days of the late '80s. That's brought a wave of new developers under the watchful eye of expert gold equity analysts. One of those is Ausgold (ASX:AUC), which owns the 3.04Moz Katanning gold project in WA's Great Southern region, around 275km southeast of Perth. Katanning is a rare asset, a 3500km2 greenstone belt, effectively under the control of a single explorer, with 2.4Moz in measured and indicated resources. Canaccord Genuity analysts led by gold expert Tim McCormack have slapped a spec buy rating on the stock with a $1.60 price target. That's more than double its Tuesday closing price of 76c, itself a 5.5% intraday gain. The key definitive feasibility study on Ausgold's KGP is yet to be released to the ASX. But McCormack and his associates have already had a go at modelling the development. They anticipate Ausgold could come out with a 3.6Mtpa operation producing 118,000ozpa at an AISC of $2326/oz over a 10-year mine life. Under their modelling, the project will hit its nameplate operating rate in H1 CY28. The various iterations (of studies) outlined the potential for the asset to support a 3-5Mtpa mining/milling operation, producing 105-136kozpa and have a mine life of up to 10 years," McCormack and Co. said. "While instructive of the project's potential, a significant management change-out in 2024 has resulted in the project being rebuilt from the ground up, culminating in the upcoming DFS, which we expect to demonstrate KGP as a realistic and deliverable proposition." That shake-up included the introduction of former Roxgold CEO John Dorward as executive chair, with a string of high ranking international gold executives including Adrian Goldstone (Dundee Corporation), Mark Turner (Resolute Mining) and Paul Weedon (Fortuna Mining) all on board. Former Telfer general manager Mark Mitchell has been appointed COO, with Ben Stockdale as CFO. "In our view, the renewed team offers an excellent blend of experience across all the required work streams to bring the KGP to fruition," McCormack and his team said. More coking coal downgrades from Argonaut Over at Argonaut, analyst Jon Scholtz is optimistic about the long-term outlook for coking coal. But he's also downgraded price forecasts out to 2028, chopping his 2025 estimate by 6% to US$190.4/t, 2026 12% to US$231.30/t, 2027 9% to US$250/t and 2028 by 8% to US$258.80/t. Argonaut's long-term forecast of US$250/t has been left unchanged, with shortages due to the failure to approve new greenfield mines expected to lead to eye-watering price of US$280/t in 2029 and US$289.2/t in 2030, admittedly, well below the highs seen post Ukraine invasion in 2022. "Coking coal prices have been under pressure in CY25 and remain subdued due to supply being robust and demand being weak," Scholtz told Argonaut clients. "We have downgraded our near-term coking coal price forecasts, however we maintain our longer-term constructive view on a demand recovery, lack of greenfield supply and, importantly, price support from being well into the cost curve." It has three stocks under its coverage, preferred pick Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC), with a buy rating and $6.50 price target, Stanmore Coal (ASX:SMR) with a buy rating and $3 price target and Coronado Global Resources (ASX:CRN), with a buy rating and 30c price target. Coronado is the ropiest of those, with its US-Australian coal business sieving cash at current prices, but it has improved its outlook somewhat in recent weeks with moves to shore up liquidity and trim costs. "We maintain a preference for WHC (thermal coal support, operational leverage and capital management upside) and we highlight CRN's recent initiatives to provide liquidity and runway for the company in the current low coal price environment," Scholtz said. Whitehaven was trading at $5.57 a share on Tuesday, with Stanmore at $1.92 and Coronado at 13c. Lower coal prices saw Queensland's State budget report a drop in coal royalties from $10.52bn in FY24 to $6.17bn in FY25, with struggling junior Bowen Coking Coal (ASX:BCB) again taking a swipe at state royalty pressures in a trading halt notice announcing it was seeking funding to support its current operations. $10m capped Bowen, worth over $500m during the 2022 coal boom, has struggled to make ends meet since making its first coal shipments at the tail-end of that boom, regularly fingering the scale of the State's royalty hike for hurting investment in coking coal mines. Issued by the previous Labor government but maintained by David Crisafulli's LNP, the tiered coal royalty regime shifted from its pre-2022 level of 7% up to $100/t, 12.5% to $150/t and 15% beyond that with three additional tiers. Coal sales now draw 20% for the final $50 of coal sold between $175-225/t, 30% from $225-300/t and 40% for any dollar earned beyond $300/t. Front month coking coal futures are currently US$175/t.
