Latest news with #NorthernStar
West Australian
4 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Mount Gibson picks up Northern Star's Tanami Gold share in NT in $50 million shift from iron ore
Mount Gibson Iron is looking to make the jump from mining iron ore off the Kimberley coast to digging for gold in the Northern Territory, after signing up to buy tenements from Northern Star Resources. The small-scale iron ore miner will draw from its substantial reserves of $460 million and stump up $50m in cash to buy Northern Star's share of the undeveloped Central Tanami gold project. Mount Gibson had hinted in a recent quarterly update that it had been 'in a good position for opportunistic investments and acquisitions' and was reviewing potential targets as its iron ore operations at Koolan Island reach the end of their life. Chief executive Peter Kerr said the deal was a compelling opportunity to jump into gold for an 'attractive' price and was encouraged by the sector's strong fundamentals that have seen prices rocket 36 per cent since this time last year. 'Involvement in the Central Tanami gold project provides Mount Gibson with an opportunity to leverage the success of its Koolan Island iron ore operation to establish the foundations of a gold production business,' he said on Wednesday. About 40 million tonnes of high-grade haematite ore has been shipped since Mount Gibson restarted mining at Koolan Island in 2007. But with the operation expected to have run its course within the next 12 to 18 months, the cashed-up miner has had to start looking for its next commodity. Both Mount Gibson and the other half of the Tanami joint venture — a listed company also named Tanami Gold — share the same majority owner in a Hong Kong-listed resources investment group, APAC Resources. And the pair also share a board member in Brett Smith, who is chair of Mount Gibson and a non-executive director of Tanami Gold. Mr Smith has abstained from board decisions at Mount Gibson regarding the transaction. The transaction will need Foreign Investment Review Board approval to proceed. The joint venture covers more than 2100skqm of mining and exploration tenements in the Central Tanami region of the Northern Territory and claims to hold 1.6 million ounces of contained gold, according to an update in 2023. Mount Gibson will also take over gold exploration tenements from Northern Star spanning about 3600sqkm. Provided the transaction is locked away, Mount Gibson and Tanami plan to be in a place to make a development decision within the next 12 to 18 months. The market took to the deal, with Mount Gibson shares lifting 5 per cent to 32¢ in early trade on Wednesday, while Tanami Gold shares rose 3.3 per cent to 6.3¢ apiece. Azure Capital and Gilbert & Tobin were advisers to the buyer.
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Double Top Signals A Potential Steep Fall In The Gold Price
Rising costs and hints of a double peak in the gold price is starting to rub the gloss off the goldmining boom. The combination of higher costs and the potential for a steep fall in the price of gold could be seen this week in the share price of Northern Star, Australia's leading miner of the metal. Beware a falling gold price A favorite of investors since the gold boom started three years ago Northern Star has suffered a 10.5% price fall on the Australian stock exchange over the past five trading days, extending its loss over the past month to 18% Investors and analysts were dismayed with a production update released by the company on Monday which contained an unexpected increase in production costs and future capital expenditure. Analysts at Citi, an investment bank, criticized Northen Star for the increase in capex which was 15% higher than they expected. Unwelcome Cost Surprise 'Northern Star needs to work on guiding the market as capex has moved up almost $2 billion for the 2026 financial year,' Citi said. 'Capex associated with the (ore processing) mill expansion such as a thermal power plant is news to us.' Despite the bank's dismay with the company's guidance for the new financial year it maintained a buy recommendation on the stock but lowered its share-price target from A$22 to A$21, which is significantly higher than the last sales at A$17.18. Easily the biggest of Australia's goldminers, the performance of Northern Star is seen by investors as a guide to the broader sector with the sell-off in its shares seen as pointer to a possible sector-wide decline as the reality of rising costs starts to bite. English actress Tania Mallet guarding a pile of gold in her role as Tilly Masterson in the 1964 ... More James Bond movie 'Goldfinger. Photo by Silver Screen Collection/) Until this week, there had been unbridled optimism that a rising gold price would wash away cost increases with the $1000 an ounce rise in the gold price over the last 12-months underpinning a 51% increase in the ASX gold index. But doubts have been building for months that the best of the gold boom has passed with a steep fall more likely over the next 12-months than a further uplift. Chartists who track the gold price have been looking with concern at the 'double top' evident in the price which hit a high of $3433/oz on April 22 and effectively repeated that price on June 13 when gold returned to $3435/oz after a period of flat trading between the twin peaks. A weaker period of trading appeared to be developing last week, offset by a fresh bout of confusion over U.S. tariff policy which has kept the gold price around $3330/oz. Charting is an imprecise art, but it can be useful in showing a pattern in trading as well as pointing to a future trend. A double top is seen as a sign of a bear market developing, a shift which could see gold quickly retreat below the $3000/oz mark with $2500/oz possible by the end of the year. If that downward trend develops, as indicated by the gold-price chart, goldmining companies which have been relying on a perpetually rising price will find their costs coming under close scrutiny.
News.com.au
07-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Good, Bad, Ugly: Gold miners roll up for reporting pre-season
Gold miners continue to roll out early numbers for the June quarter Ramelius posts record year; Bellevue's best cash generating quarter with gold prices at record levels But Northern Star cops a massive hit as FY26 guidance disappoints punters After last week's entree, some of the ASX's top gold miners rolled out their early numbers for the June quarter and FY25 on Monday morning. It's provided a little window into how things are going for gold producers, who are under the microscope as investors chase mega profits off the back of a record gold price. Of course, not all boats float at all times. Some miners are weighed down by hedges, others are failing to meet production targets or analyst expectations. Here's how the market received five top gold miners as they floated a preview of their June reports. Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) Ramelius has hit its straps ahead of its merger with Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR), beating guidance to deliver 301,664oz of gold for FY25. That came off the back of 73,454oz in the June quarter, which outstripped upgraded guidance of 62,000-72,000oz. The outcome? Underlying free cash flow of $207.8m for the quarter, with $694.9m for the year well over double the $315.8m generated in FY24. With cash and gold on hand of $809.7m, there's plenty of fuel in the tank for returns or more corporate deals even after the SPR takeover closes, with costs likely to come in at the lower end of the AISC guidance range of $1550-1650/oz. MD Mark Zeptner said it was a fifth straight guidance make. "In the near term, we are working towards completion of our previously announced transaction with Spartan Resources. We plan to embrace their exploration DNA which led to the discovery of the highest-grade undeveloped gold project in Australia, importantly right in our backyard," he added. "Our combined companies are currently well advanced on integration activities and associated studies in anticipation of Spartan shareholders approving the Scheme and other regulatory approvals being obtained by 31 July." Argonaut's Hayden Bairstow said RMS' result exceeded expectations, with quarterly gold production 7% above Argonaut's forecasts and cash 30% higher than projected thanks to strong production and the timing of dividend and tax payments. RBC's Alex Barkley previously predicted the 300,000oz result, but warned some limits to RMS' upside potential are on the horizon, with RBC tipping gold production of 212,000oz in FY26 and 178,000oz in FY27 alongside rising capex. RMS shares rose close to 1% this morning. Bellevue Gold (ASX:BGL) Bellevue, beaten down by a string of production downgrades going out as far as 2029, generated a record $67m in cash flow in the June quarter. That turned around a $30m outflow in March 2025, lifting cash on hand by $65m to $152m. BGL produced 38,941oz, processing a record 287,000t at 4.5g/t gold with 94.4% recovery. After a restructure of the company's hedging, 38,754oz were sold at an average sale price of $5147/oz, collecting the full benefit of the rampant spot gold price. Bellevue's Bellevue gold mine near Leinster is known to be on the market, and today's release was good for its potential valuation, with BGL shares 4.3% higher despite the production figure falling marginally short of guidance of 40-45,000oz thanks to delays accessing a key stope at Deacon and unplanned plant maintenance. Bellevue did, however, claim a record month of 19,400oz for June, with 130,164oz sold across the full financial year. Analysts from Argonaut and Canaccord both think BGL will produce around 150,000oz in FY26, with CG's Tim McCormack saying FCF was higher than its forecast of $53m. Regis produced 87,400oz in the June term, taking full year production from its 100% owned Duketon gold operations and 30% share of the Tropicana gold mine to 373,000oz. That was the upper end of guidance of 350-380,000oz, with its portion of the Tropicana JV (70% owned by AngloGold Ashanti) contributing 140,000oz – the top of its 130-140,000oz range. Duketon came in at 233,000oz against FY25 guidance of 220-240,000oz. Cash and bullion build was $150m, with a total of $517m at June 30. Regis is considered by observers to be a likely acquirer with the cash burning a hole in its back pocket. RRL shares dropped 1.3% on Monday morn. A 1.4% drop, too, for Alkane despite hitting guidance with 70,120oz produced at the Tomingley gold mine in New South Wales in FY25. As foregrounded by the miner in its last quarterly, that was at the lower end of the 70,000-80,000oz range. Cash and bullion lifted $9.8m to $60.3m, with underlying free cash flow of $12.3m before land purchases related to its Boda porphyry project. ALK, which produced 19,193oz in the June quarter, also made $1.8m in debt repayments and filled 7200oz of hedges. The company retains $8m of listed investments, including a stake in Medallion Metals (ASX:MM8). With production numbers out of the way, attention will turn to its merger with TSX-listed Mandalay Resources, owner of the Costerfield gold-antimony mine in Victoria and Björkdal operation in Sweden. 'Tomingley has had an excellent year with increased production from the Roswell underground and the successful commissioning of both a new paste plant and a flotation and fine grind circuit," ALK MD Nic Earner said. 'Alkane's operation at Tomingley, combined with our merger with Mandalay Resources, place us firmly into the mid-tier gold companies on the ASX. We look forward to the year ahead and delivering for our shareholders.' If there was something to call ugly it was the operational update out of the ASX's apex gold miner, which lopped 7.3% off its market valuation on Monday. The concerns were multi-faceted. NST crept into the lower end of its guidance range of 1.63-1.66Moz with 1.634Moz of gold produced. While its Pogo mine in Alaska surprised to the upside (283,000oz vs 265,000-275,000oz), the key Kalgoorlie centre came in at 832,000oz for the full year against guidance of 850,000-860,000oz. Yandal was on track at 518,000oz (guidance 515-525,000z). NST delivered a total of 444,000oz in the June quarter, including 118,000oz from its flagship KCGM operation in Kalgoorlie. It had previously revised guidance from 1.65-1.8Moz at costs of $1850-2100/oz to 1.63-1.66Moz at $2100-2200/oz. FY26 guidance has been set also of 1.7-1.85Moz at $2300-2700/oz, with 550-600,000oz projected from KCGM (aka the Super Pit). Operational growth capital is expected to come in at $1.14-1.2bn, with NST warning of inflationary pressures to the tune of around 5%, along with increased sustaining capital due to underground development, processing capital and increase mining costs and activity across the portfolio. There are some external factors as well – with higher royalties due to the strong gold price and tariff assumptions for the Pogo mine in Alaska. While $530-550m to be spent in the final year of a plant expansion at KCGM is unchanged, it's not included in the aforementioned growth capital bill. Meanwhile, $315-370m has been brought forward for "operational readiness" at KCGM, including $180-220m on new tailings dams to support higher processing rates, $85m on a thermal power station with 'renewable ready transmission infrastructure', $30-35m for a permanent onside camp for future projects and shutdowns and $20-30m for commissioning and initial stores consumables. Another $140-150m will be spent on the Hemi project, acquired in a $6bn merger with De Grey Mining, with $225m pledged for exploration. RBC's Alex Barkley said the guidance posted came in slightly lower than the midpoint of both the bank's and consensus guidance (1.802Moz and 1.811Moz respectively), with costs 17% above consensus and total growth capex around $400m above consensus. "NST states the FY26 cost increases come from industry-wide inflationary pressures, and an increase in infrastructure and development costs, which should provide some benefit in future periods. However, we expect this is unlikely to mitigate the headline blow to FY26 cash flow," he said in a note to clients. "We expect NST trades lower today." Argonaut's Bristow maintained a buy and $27.40 price target on NST, calling the production result mixed. "FY26 guidance has been provided for the first time, with production in line with our forecasts while ASIC and capex guidance was higher than anticipated," he said. "The acquisition of De Grey Mining and the completion of the KCGM expansion should enable NST to increase group gold production by +50% over the next 4-5 years, translating to an impressive annual production CAGR of ~11%.
Perth Now
07-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Aussie shares dip as Trump shifts tariff deadline again
The local share market has slipped slightly from the record levels set last week amid more uncertainty over Donald Trump's trade wars and ahead of the Reserve Bank's latest decision on interest rates. Near midday on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 15.4 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 8,588.5, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 14.3 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 8,827.6. Overseas, US stock market futures had fallen after President Trump confirmed that America's tariffs won't come into effect into August 1, rather than this week, potentially dragging out the drama even further. "Tariffs go into effect August 1. But the president is setting the rates, and the deals, right now," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters as the president nodded in approval. Markets had previously been operating under the assumption that the tariffs would go into effect on Wednesday, with the expiration of 90-day pause the Trump administration announced back on April 9. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied in a television interview that the August 1 date represented a new deadline, but it potentially does give America's trading partners more time to negotiate - as well as drawing out the drama further. Closer to home, the Reserve Bank is widely expected to trim interest rates on Tuesday, with futures markets on Friday giving implied odds of 97 per cent of a cut. Four of the ASX's 11 sectors were higher at midday and six were lower, with telecommunications flat. Utilities was the biggest mover, rising 2.7 per cent as Origin Energy advanced 5.5 per cent to a three-week high of $11.41. In the mining sector, Northern Star had dropped 6.3 per cent to a more than three-month low of $17.23 after Australia's biggest listed goldminer told investors to expect higher costs and lower production in 2025/26. Northern Star said the higher costs reflected industry-wide inflationary pressure as well as infrastructure and development costs and royalties. Elsewhere in the sector, Fortescue was up 0.4 per cent, Rio Tinto had added 0.2 per cent and BHP had edged 0.1 per cent higher. In the heavyweight banking sector, all of the big four banks were down. CBA had dipped 0.2 per cent, ANZ had lost 1.2 per cent, Westpac had retreated 1.0 per cent and NAB had slipped 0.6 per cent. Elsewhere, Cobram Estate Olives was up 11.6 per cent to an all-time high of $2.40 after the olive-grower reported a successful 2025 harvest. AML3D was up 6.3 per cent after the US Navy confirmed its interest in purchasing more parts from the industrial 3D metal printing technology company. The Australian dollar had dropped to a week and a half low against its US counterpart, trading for 65.24 US cents, from 65.72 US cents at close of business on Friday.
West Australian
07-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Aussie shares dip as Trump shifts tariff deadline again
The local share market has slipped slightly from the record levels set last week amid more uncertainty over Donald Trump's trade wars and ahead of the Reserve Bank's latest decision on interest rates. Near midday on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 15.4 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 8,588.5, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 14.3 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 8,827.6. Overseas, US stock market futures had fallen after President Trump confirmed that America's tariffs won't come into effect into August 1, rather than this week, potentially dragging out the drama even further. "Tariffs go into effect August 1. But the president is setting the rates, and the deals, right now," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters as the president nodded in approval. Markets had previously been operating under the assumption that the tariffs would go into effect on Wednesday, with the expiration of 90-day pause the Trump administration announced back on April 9. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent denied in a television interview that the August 1 date represented a new deadline, but it potentially does give America's trading partners more time to negotiate - as well as drawing out the drama further. Closer to home, the Reserve Bank is widely expected to trim interest rates on Tuesday, with futures markets on Friday giving implied odds of 97 per cent of a cut. Four of the ASX's 11 sectors were higher at midday and six were lower, with telecommunications flat. Utilities was the biggest mover, rising 2.7 per cent as Origin Energy advanced 5.5 per cent to a three-week high of $11.41. In the mining sector, Northern Star had dropped 6.3 per cent to a more than three-month low of $17.23 after Australia's biggest listed goldminer told investors to expect higher costs and lower production in 2025/26. Northern Star said the higher costs reflected industry-wide inflationary pressure as well as infrastructure and development costs and royalties. Elsewhere in the sector, Fortescue was up 0.4 per cent, Rio Tinto had added 0.2 per cent and BHP had edged 0.1 per cent higher. In the heavyweight banking sector, all of the big four banks were down. CBA had dipped 0.2 per cent, ANZ had lost 1.2 per cent, Westpac had retreated 1.0 per cent and NAB had slipped 0.6 per cent. Elsewhere, Cobram Estate Olives was up 11.6 per cent to an all-time high of $2.40 after the olive-grower reported a successful 2025 harvest. AML3D was up 6.3 per cent after the US Navy confirmed its interest in purchasing more parts from the industrial 3D metal printing technology company. The Australian dollar had dropped to a week and a half low against its US counterpart, trading for 65.24 US cents, from 65.72 US cents at close of business on Friday.
