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ABC News
2 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
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ausgold signs farm-in deal with Critica for WA licence
Australian gold explorer Ausgold has signed a farm-in agreement with Critica concerning exploration licence E70/5077, adjacent to Ausgold's Kulin gold project in Western Australia (WA). This agreement allows Ausgold to earn up to a 70% interest in the licence over three and a half years. Under the farm-in terms, Ausgold can secure a 51% interest by investing A$250,000 ($161,130) within 18 months, and an additional 19% interest with a further investment of A$360,000 over the subsequent 24 months. Once the earn-in is complete, Critica will maintain a 30% contributing interest or opt for the right to convert to a 1.5% net smelter royalty upon a decision to mine. The licence spans approximately 106km² and is situated along the eastern margin of the Katanning Greenstone Belt. The tenement, E70/5077, is located on the northern extension of the Yandina Thrust, known for hosting the Griffins Find and Tampia gold mines. The area's gold prospectivity is further underscored by a coherent gold-in-soil anomaly extending over 3km of strike. Within this zone, two high-grade anomalies have been identified, each extending approximately 600m. Ausgold executive chairman John Dorward said: 'The farm-in to E70/5077 is a strategic step in expanding our regional footprint across the eastern Katanning Greenstone Belt. This new tenement complements our strong regional landholding surrounding our flagship Katanning Gold Project, which includes the Kulin Project as well as other advanced exploration prospects such as Duggan and Nanicup Bridge–Zinger. 'This agreement directly aligns with our strategy to establish a regional production hub at the Katanning Gold Project, by discovering and developing high-quality, near-surface satellite deposits that can leverage our existing infrastructure and scale.' Ausgold plans to submit the required programme of work in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 (Q1 FY26) and anticipates launching its maiden drilling campaign between Q2 and Q3 of FY26. The upcoming work programme will focus on high-priority gold-in-soil and trenching anomalies to capitalise on the project's discovery potential. In June 2024, the company secured firm commitments to garner A$38m through a placement to further the development of its Katanning gold project in WA. "Ausgold signs farm-in deal with Critica for WA licence" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
The Australian
21-06-2025
- Business
- The Australian
AUC to deliver Katanning DFS by end June 2025
Ausgold's Katanning gold project covers 3500km2 of ground in WA's Great Southern region DFS for proposed 3.6Mtpa development with a 10-year mine life nearing completion Decision to mine could come as early as Q1 or Q2 2026 Pegging large tracts of ground around promising projects is common enough in the mining world, but having a junior company lock down what's essentially an entire greenstone belt is far less common. Yet that's exactly what Ausgold (ASX:AUC) has managed to achieve with its Katanning gold project in Western Australia's Great Southern, where it has secured a landholding of over 3500km2 that is just 30km from the town of Katanning and some 275km southeast (and 3.5hrs via the Albany Highway) from Perth. This is primarily on freehold land – requiring the company to engage with landholders rather than deal with native title agreements, and includes mineralised trends that strike over 100km. This achievement was made possible by the relatively recent recognition by the Geological Survey of Western Australia in 2019 that what was previously considered to be just granite was actually a greenstone belt. Greenstone belts are much sought after for explorers due to their well-known gold prospectivity. Executive chairman John Dorward, who took the helm about a year ago as Ausgold brought in fresh blood with experience in operations and project development, told Stockhead the late identification of the project area as a greenstone enabled the company to really 'put its foot' on the entire belt. 'All of the ground that is of interest we have under tenure,' he added. Katanning gold project map. Pic: Ausgold Katanning gold project That greenstone was indeed fertile. Ausgold has defined one of the largest undeveloped resources in WA of 3.04Moz of gold at an average grade of 1.06g/t. Further highlighting the level of work already conducted, this includes higher confidence measured and indicated resources totalling over 2.42Moz and an ore reserve of 1.28Moz at 1.25g/t. That is enough for a plant with proposed throughput of 3.6 million tonnes per annum to comfortably sustain production of some 136,000oz of gold per annum for an initial 10-year mine life. Katanning is certainly attractive enough for Ausgold to be able to attract primarily northern hemisphere institutions to back a $38m placement last year to fast track its development. This includes the key definitive feasibility study which the company is putting the finishing touches on. It's due for release before the end of the month. 'It's starting to look really good, taking shape. I think it's going be a really strong project,' he added. He also noted the feasibility study is a big step towards putting a milestone out in the public domain and that not missing it would be a critical step on the right path for the company, contrasting with when it previously struggled to advance projects in a timely fashion. That gold prices are still trading at near record levels – A$5212/oz on Wednesday – is certainly helping, though Dorward said Katanning will be very competitive against other developments even at conservative price assumptions. Katanning gold project deposits. Pic: Ausgold Only the beginning The current Katanning project is a starter kit for Ausgold believes will be a multi-decade asset. The company's enormous land holding means there is plenty of the greenstone belt still to explore for large new gold deposits. 'We have started to actively explore that. We have enough to build a very attractive project. today, but we think it's just the early innings and very much just the starter for what we think will ultimately be there,' he said. Immediate growth could come through drilling to the north and south of existing resources as it remains open in those directions. There is also potential for repeat structures in the immediate vicinity of the project and opportunities for high-grade satellite feeders to be found across the company's regional exploration package. A major ~19,000m drill program is currently underway including 12,000m of RC drilling proximal to the KGP designed to de-risk the first 18 months of production and grow the mineral resource. The infill drilling has already delivered near-surface gold intercepts such as 14m grading 4.58g/t gold from 29m in the Central Zone that support the de-risking strategy and high-grade results such as 10m at 10.55g/t gold from 42m in the Southern Zone that supports the project's growth potential. Likewise, drilling has extended the Datatine high-grade shoot in the Northern Zone by ~240m down-plunge after returning a notable intercept of 6.6m at 3.4g/t gold from 362m, reinforcing its potential as a high-grade underground prospect that remains open down-plunge. Drilling at regional prospects has also intersected broad gold zones, which reinforce Ausgold's belief in the prospectivity of its regional growth pipeline. Road ahead Besides the upcoming DFS, Ausgold is focused on permitting. 'We will have our initial application in by the end of this month to start the permitting clock, which we think is around a nine-month timeline,' Dorward said. The company is also looking at debt financing, led by chief financial officer Benjamin Stockdale, a experienced operator who has assisted junior mining companies in securing financing for development of their first project. 'We are also starting detailed engineering and looking to buy long lead items as well as securing the last of the land access that we need in terms of compensating the underlying landholders,' he noted. 'It's going to be a busy 12 months but by end of Q1, early Q2 next year, we'll be looking to press the button on breaking ground. 'Once we publish the DFS, it is going to look to people like a very straight down the middle of the fairway, substantial Western Australian open pit gold mine. 'There's nothing challenging in terms of the mining or the metallurgy or the sort of the environmental aspects or anything like that. 'It's a straightforward project that's of really good size and it will make a tonne of money.' At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Ausgold is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
News.com.au
18-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Ausgold's belt-scale Katanning gold project is poised to shine
Ausgold's Katanning gold project covers 3500km2 of ground in WA's South West region DFS for proposed 3.6Mtpa development with a 10-year mine life nearing completion Decision to mine could come as early as Q1 or Q2 2026 Pegging large tracts of ground around promising projects is common enough in the mining world, but having a junior company lock down what's essentially an entire greenstone belt is far less common. Yet that's exactly what Ausgold (ASX:AUC) has managed to achieve with its Katanning gold project in Western Australia's Great Southern, where it has secured a landholding of over 3500km2 that is just 30km from the town of Katanning and some 275km southeast (and 3.5hrs via the Albany Highway) from Perth. This is primarily on freehold land – requiring the company to engage with landholders rather than deal with native title agreements, and includes mineralised trends that strike over 100km. This achievement was made possible by the relatively recent recognition by the Geological Survey of Western Australia in 2019 that what was previously considered to be just granite was actually a greenstone belt. Greenstone belts are much sought after for explorers due to their well-known gold prospectivity. Executive chairman John Dorward, who took the helm about a year ago as Ausgold brought in fresh blood with experience in operations and project development, told Stockhead the late identification of the project area as a greenstone enabled the company to really 'put its foot' on the entire belt. 'All of the ground that is of interest we have under tenure,' he added. Katanning gold project That greenstone was indeed fertile. Ausgold has defined one of the largest undeveloped resources in WA of 3.04Moz of gold at an average grade of 1.06g/t. Further highlighting the level of work already conducted, this includes higher confidence measured and indicated resources totalling over 2.42Moz and an ore reserve of 1.28Moz at 1.25g/t. That is enough for a plant with proposed throughput of 3.6 million tonnes per annum to comfortably sustain production of some 136,000oz of gold per annum for an initial 10-year mine life. Katanning is certainly attractive enough for Ausgold to be able to attract primarily northern hemisphere institutions to back a $38m placement last year to fast track its development. This includes the key definitive feasibility study which the company is putting the finishing touches on. It's due for release before the end of the month. 'It's starting to look really good, taking shape. I think it's going be a really strong project,' he added. He also noted the feasibility study is a big step towards putting a milestone out in the public domain and that not missing it would be a critical step on the right path for the company, contrasting with when it previously struggled to advance projects in a timely fashion. That gold prices are still trading at near record levels – A$5212/oz on Wednesday – is certainly helping, though Dorward said Katanning will be very competitive against other developments even at conservative price assumptions. Only the beginning The current Katanning project is a starter kit for Ausgold believes will be a multi-decade asset. The company's enormous land holding means there is plenty of the greenstone belt still to explore for large new gold deposits. 'We have started to actively explore that. We have enough to build a very attractive project. today, but we think it's just the early innings and very much just the starter for what we think will ultimately be there,' he said. Immediate growth could come through drilling to the north and south of existing resources as it remains open in those directions. There is also potential for repeat structures in the immediate vicinity of the project and opportunities for high-grade satellite feeders to be found across the company's regional exploration package. A major ~19,000m drill program is currently underway including 12,000m of RC drilling proximal to the KGP designed to de-risk the first 18 months of production and grow the mineral resource. The infill drilling has already delivered near-surface gold intercepts such as 14m grading 4.58g/t gold from 29m in the Central Zone that support the de-risking strategy and high-grade results such as 10m at 10.55g/t gold from 42m in the Southern Zone that supports the project's growth potential. Likewise, drilling has extended the Datatine high-grade shoot in the Northern Zone by ~240m down-plunge after returning a notable intercept of 6.6m at 3.4g/t gold from 362m, reinforcing its potential as a high-grade underground prospect that remains open down-plunge. Drilling at regional prospects has also intersected broad gold zones, which reinforce Ausgold's belief in the prospectivity of its regional growth pipeline. Road ahead Besides the upcoming DFS, Ausgold is focused on permitting. 'We will have our initial application in by the end of this month to start the permitting clock, which we think is around a nine-month timeline,' Dorward said. The company is also looking at debt financing, led by chief financial officer Benjamin Stockdale, a experienced operator who has assisted junior mining companies in securing financing for development of their first project. 'We are also starting detailed engineering and looking to buy long lead items as well as securing the last of the land access that we need in terms of compensating the underlying landholders,' he noted. 'It's going to be a busy 12 months but by end of Q1, early Q2 next year, we'll be looking to press the button on breaking ground. 'Once we publish the DFS, it is going to look to people like a very straight down the middle of the fairway, substantial Western Australian open pit gold mine. 'There's nothing challenging in terms of the mining or the metallurgy or the sort of the environmental aspects or anything like that. 'It's a straightforward project that's of really good size and it will make a tonne of money.'
