Latest news with #RameliusResources
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
These ASX goldies are close to unlocking producer status
With the soaring gold price, Australia's next mob of near-term producers are champing at the bit to get their projects up and running. The timing couldn't be better to open a new gold mine, with price above A$5100/oz at the time of writing. Gold projects are unique in the mining world. With the advantage of installed infrastructure and a high price relative to more common metals, even a small gold operation can be a money-spinner. That means junior operators can quickly open up and generate cash from relatively modest operations with construction timelines that run shorter than a two-bed house. In a sign of the times nano-cap gold explorer Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV) is chasing the goal of mining the ~34,000 recoverable ounces at its Eureka project in WA from the first quarter of 2026. One of two advanced projects on the company's books along with the formerly Ramelius Resources operated Coogee project east of Kalgoorlie, the decision to push ahead with Eureka could put $25-30m in the bank account of a company currently capped at just $12.5m. "When we executed the agreement to acquire Eureka, the gold price was around $3000 Aussie, which is only around 12 months ago when we first negotiated the transaction," Javelin executive chairman Brett Mitchell said. "The fact that it's up 40% from there, it opens up possibilities that we haven't seen before and the sector hasn't seen before, which is really exciting. " Assets that sort of haven't seen the light of day previously in larger companies are available and potentially to be picked up by smaller companies and developed." The project hosts a resource of 2.45mt at 1.42g/t Au for 112,000 ounces, including 62,000oz indicated, and a quick pathway to mining means the company could create rapid value in the current record high gold price environment. JAV is considering several options to mill its ore nearby, including the Paddington gold operations owned by Chinese giant Zijin Mining just 20km away. Engineering studies and the approval process for the restart of mining are well advanced, with the board aiming to be mining within 12 months. There's also room to grow the resource, with exploration progressing in parallel. That's a major benefit of the decision to mine at Eureka, which will see a contractor take on the risk of funding the development while Javelin rakes in millions in fresh capital without diluting shareholders. " A) it is transformational, b) it enables us to go and self-fund without any more requirement for capital, allowing further exploration at Eureka and Coogee," Mitchell said. "We can also look at other complementary gold project acquisitions in and around the WA Goldfields." Big and small developers heading for producer status Javelin isn't the only ASX gold explorer en route to becoming a producer in quick time. Here's a run down of some of the miners running hard toward development. Star Minerals (ASX:SMS) Star Minerals is aiming to become a small-scale gold producer at its 45,000oz Tumblegum South project as soon as 2026. A scoping study for the project suggested at gold prices from A$3000 to A$3800/oz the updated production target for the project ranges from approximately 167,000t at 2.43g/t producing 11,800oz gold, to 255,000t at 2.16g/t producing 15,900oz gold. That would generate an undiscounted accumulated cash surplus after payment of all working capital costs, but excluding pre-mining capital requirements, of approximately A$9.4m to A$19.6m. Drill results are pending from a recent program, with the company aiming to convert any remaining shallow inferred resources to indicated within the optimised pit in the project's scoping study. Once operational, the project could feed underutilised mills operated by the likes of Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) and Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL). Ausgold (ASX:AUC) AUC will take a little longer to get there, but will be ensconced in the ASX's prospective mid-tier once in production around 2027, after releasing a definitive feasibility study for its Katanning gold project in WA. AUC holds over 3500km2 of what's essentially an entire greenstone belt in WA's Great Southern region, and had an unconstrained resource of 3.04Moz of gold at an average grade of 1.06g/t. As part of the DFS, that was updated to stand at 69Mt at 1.11g/t for 2.44 million ounces of contained gold, constrained to an economic $4500/oz pit shell. The study also detailed an average annual gold production of 140,000oz over the first four years through a 3.6Mtpa processing plant, producing 1.14Moz in total over the mine's first decade. At a fairly modest gold price of A$4300/oz, strong project economics include a post-tax cashflow of A$1.37Bn, IRR of 53%, with all in sustaining costs of A$2180/oz over first four years and A$2265/oz over the life-of-mine. At a recent spot gold price of approximately A$5000/oz (US$3250/oz), the study flags a post-tax cashflow of A$1.36 billion (US$0.88 billion) and IRR of 68%. The plan now is to progress to a final investment decision, with AUC last week banking a $35m cap raising which will enable the purchase of long lead time items and ongoing exploration. Theta Gold Mines (ASX:TGM) Theta is targeting production at its 6.1Moz Transvaal Gold Mining Estates project in 2027, spurred on by record gold prices, announcing a decision to mine last month. The historic South African gold field sits 370km northeast of the global gold and business hub of Johannesburg, near the original gold rush town of Pilgrim's Rest in Mpumalanga. And with spot prices around double that used in the company's 2022 feasibility study it's no wonder TGM is racing to get into production. The old study suggested the project could produce 80-100,000ozpa over a near 13-year mine life at an all-in sustaining cost of just US$834/oz. An updated study is due in September and is expected to deliver vastly superior economics, with the development already boasting a positive net present value of US$432 million on pre-boom prices. Sydney-based equity markets advisory firm RaaS Research Group said last week the company could be due a re-rate once it's in production. On the funding front, TGM has secured a credit approved loan facility agreement and indicative funding terms from the Industrial Development Corporation for a US$35m loan. Forming part of the overall project debt funding, it will make the South African government credit agency a key stakeholder in the project. Challenger Gold (ASX:CEL) Challenger is targeting production later this year for its Hualilán gold project in Argentina. The company is in the midst of metallurgical testwork which is expected to be completed by Q4 2025 ahead of a standalone pre-feasibility study at the project. The company is aiming to confirm heap leaching as a viable pathway for processing low-grade material that was previously excluded from economic evaluation. 'This could materially enhance the scale, economics and development pathway for Hualilan, positioning it as a standout gold project in Argentina,' MD Kris Knauer said this week. CEL also has a three-year toll milling strategy on the cards which – based on conservative spot prices of US$2500/oz for gold and US$27.50/oz for silver – anticipates EBITDA of A$136 million, a post-tax NPV of US$50.5 million, and cumulative post-tax-free cash flow of US$56.7 million. Using a gold price of US$3300/oz, this EBITDA increases to A$221 million. These impressive financial metrics are from toll milling through Austral Gold's Casposo mill, which is based on exploiting only 3% of the current 2.8Moz resource at Hualilan. Mining will be focused on three shallow open pits producing 465,000 wet metric tonnes of mineralised material above the cut-off grade at an average mined grade of 6.2g/t gold and 35g/t silver. Ore will be hauled 165km on a sealed highway to the fully permitted Casposo plant, where recoveries are expected of 84.4% gold and 65.7% silver. West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI) The company is bringing one of the Witwatersrand Basin's historic gold fields back into production, after kicking off development of its Qala Shallows project last month. The 70,000ozpa development is the first step on the road to a potential 200,000ozpa production hub in the South African basin, the world's most productive gold basin responsible for turning out more than 1.5Boz of the precious metal since 1886. WWI controls more than 5Moz and recently executed a buyback agreement taking its stake in the Witwatersrand Basin project from 66.6% to 74%, giving the company more control over the project as commodity prices sit at record levels of ~US$3300/oz. An update to the project's definitive feasibility study is underway to reflect improved economics at higher gold prices – with the old study assuming a price of just US$1850/oz. Updated economics are expected to deliver a lower peak funding requirement, shortened payback period and higher NPV, plus an updated mine plan based on a lower cut-off grade. The company is targeting first gold pour from the project in Q4 this year. Western Gold Resources (ASX:WGR) WGR is fast-tracking its Gold Duke mine into production after securing a binding toll milling agreement with Wiluna Mining Corporation last month. The project hosts shallow, free-milling ore, enabling rapid, low-cost open-pit extraction and early access to production and is just 46km from the Wiluna processing plant. The agreement duration is 24 months, allowing the company to lock in its Stage 1 production, which involves the production of 447,000t at 2.55g/t gold for 34,000oz of gold from the Eagle, Emu, Gold King and Golden Monarch deposits. This was based on the 2024 scoping study which assumed gold price of $3500/oz, well below the current Australian gold price above the $5100/oz mark. An updated scoping study is expected this month. While stage 1 is underway, WGR will also be able to simultaneously develop Stage 2 for potential extensions to the life of mine (LOM) such as Joyners Find and Bottom Camp. 'This marks a monumental leap forward for Western Gold Resources and with gold prices surging, all mining approvals in place and a preferred contractor selected, we are well positioned to accelerate our transition to a gold producer,' MD Cullum Winn said. The company isn't resting on its laurels either, with exploration planned at several brownfields targets including Joyners Find, Bottom Camp, Emu/Eagle Saddle and Gold King/Golden Monarch Saddle. At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Javelin Minerals, Star Minerals, Ausgold, Theta Gold Mines, Challenger Gold, West Wits Mining and Western Gold Resources
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%.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Institutional investors in Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX:RMS) lost 5.9% last week but have reaped the benefits of longer-term growth
Institutions' substantial holdings in Ramelius Resources implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price A total of 12 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership Insiders have bought recently We've discovered 1 warning sign about Ramelius Resources. View them for free. If you want to know who really controls Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX:RMS), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 65% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). Institutional investors was the group most impacted after the company's market cap fell to AU$3.0b last week. However, the 26% one-year return to shareholders might have softened the blow. They should, however, be mindful of further losses in the future. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Ramelius Resources, beginning with the chart below. View our latest analysis for Ramelius Resources Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index. Ramelius Resources already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Ramelius Resources' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. Ramelius Resources is not owned by hedge funds. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is State Street Global Advisors, Inc. with 9.3% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.0% and 6.0% of the stock. After doing some more digging, we found that the top 12 have the combined ownership of 52% in the company, suggesting that no single shareholder has significant control over the company. While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily. While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Ramelius Resources Limited. It is a pretty big company, so it is generally a positive to see some potentially meaningful alignment. In this case, they own around AU$34m worth of shares (at current prices). Most would say this shows alignment of interests between shareholders and the board. Still, it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling. The general public-- including retail investors -- own 32% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. To that end, you should be aware of the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Ramelius Resources . Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Sky News AU
01-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
ASX 200 opens lower on Thursday following strong week and setting a new 20-day high
The S&P/ASX 200 has opened lower on Thursday morning, dropping 12.10 points or 0.15 per cent to 8114.10 basis points, following a hike and a successful stint over the last week. The dip comes after the index reported in set a new 20-day high, having experienced a 0.2 per cent bump on Wednesday, with Ramelius Resources rising 3.7 per cent and Spartan Resources jumping three per cent. It followed a market surge in the United States overnight on Tuesday amid fresh data showing the RBA's preferred measure of inflation has fallen into its target range. Australian stocks had a steady run in the week before Wednesday's spike, rising by 3.2 per cent over the five days prior. The dip comes after the release of the latest quarterly CPI figures which showed core inflation dropping less than expected to 2.9 per cent. Headline inflation had remained remains stable at 2.4 per cent, but trimmed mean inflation fell into the central bank's target range for the first time since 2021. The figures sparked hope that the RBA is about to make its second interest rate cut of the year, with Sky News Business Reporter Ed Boyd having said that lowering inflation could lead to a boost in market confidence. The bottom performing stocks in the index on Thursday morning are Nickel Industries Limited and Pilbara Minerals Limited, which are down 3.10 per cent and 2.99 per cent respectively. Heavyweight materials and financials sectors are down as well consumer discretionary and utilities stocks. Meanwhile across the board, Amchor shares sunk to a three-month low of $14.05 on Thursday morning.
Sky News AU
30-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
ASX 200 rises as fresh data shows inflation falls into RBA's target range, could prompt second rate cut in 2025
The ASX 200 has edged higher following a market surge in the US overnight, amid fresh data showing the RBA's preferred measure of inflation has fallen into its target range. The index bumped up 0.2 per cent on Wednesday, with Ramelius Resources rising 3.7 per cent and Spartan Resources jumping three per cent. Australian stocks have been on a tear over the past week, rising by 3.2 per cent over the past five days. Headline inflation remains stable at 2.4 per cent, but trimmed mean inflation - down from 3.3 per cent to 2.9 per cent - has fallen into the central bank's target range for the first time since 2021. The new figures have sparked hope that the RBA is about to make its second interest rate cut of the year. Sky News Business Reporter Ed Boyd said lowering inflation could lead to a boost in market confidence. 'Inflation numbers today could have an impact on the market,' Boyd said. 'If they're pretty good, the markets should lift even more.' On Wall Street, all major indexes surged despite US employers posting 7.2 million jobs vacancies in March, below the 7.5 million forecast by economists. The Nasdaq rose 0.6 per cent, the Dow Jones increased 0.8 per cent and the S&P 500 jumped 0.6 per cent. Hopes of the ongoing trade war simmering have surged on the back of US President Donald Trump telling reporters tariff negotiations with India are 'coming along great' and predicting there will be a deal between the two major countries. 'I think we'll have a deal with India,' Trump said outside the White House. 'The prime minister, as you know, was here three weeks ago, and they want to make a deal.' US treasury secretary Scott Bessent echoed Trump's comments, telling reporters the US was 'very close on India'. The US President said he was in discussions with Anthony Albanese on tariff discussions after speculation grew on whether the Prime Minister can get in contact with Trump. 'They are calling, and I will be talking to him, yes,' Trump told Nine News. The NZX 50 Index rose about 0.4 per cent on Wednesday before more than undoing these gains and sitting down 0.1 per cent. After Japan pausing trading on Tuesday for Showa Day, Japan's Nikkei 225 spiked almost half a per cent before losing its gains. South Korea's KOSPI is up about 0.1 per cent.
