Ora Banda Mining Ltd becomes Australia’s newest gold producer with two operating

Ora Banda Mining Ora Ltd () (FRA:M6N) became Australia’s newest gold producer after it recommissioned the Davyhurst Gold Processing Plant in WA, together with its associated site infrastructure, with the first gold poured on February 7, 2021.

It marked a major milestone for Ora Banda, transitioning the company from a developer to a gold producer. 

The gold producer now has two operating mines – Riverina and Golden Eagle – with the third, Missouri, in development. 

Its 1.2 million tonnes per annum nameplate process plant is operational and it is continuing to build ore stores. 

Quarterly highlights

During the quarter, a total of 3,024 ounces of gold were sold at an average price of A$2,235 per ounce. At quarter-end the company had:

• Unsold bullion of 1,166 ounces;
• Gold in Circuit (GIC) of 1,354 ounces;
• Gold in surface ore stocks of 6,593 ounces.

Riverina open pit productivity continued to increase during the quarter, reaching the 425mRL bench level by March 31, 2021.

The dewatering and rehabilitation of Golden Eagle underground was also completed in the quarter and first gold production achieved.

All key infrastructure was completed during the quarter, including power, camps, processing plant, and bore fields.

With A$1.25 million investment in exploration, a total of 30,225 metres of exploration and resource definition drilling were completed.

Davyhurst Gold Project

With the first gold poured in February, project works have been delivered on schedule and within budget.

They include:

• Riverina open pit & Golden Eagle underground operational;
• Process plant in ramp-up phase with full throughput imminent; and
• Planning for commencement of mining operations at Missouri in progress.

Multiple production sources underpin the long-life operation at Davyhurst, with six deposits contributing to the current 5.2-year mine plan, all within 50 kilometres of the Davyhurst plant.

There are potential open pit extensions and strong underground mineral resources of 500,000 ounces of gold (3.7 million tonnes at 4.4 g/t), providing the opportunity for near-term mine-life extensions beyond current designs.

It has highly strategic long-term infrastructure in place to support growth and resource extensions, with Ora Banda positioned well to be a long-term regional producer in a leading jurisdiction.

Key DFS metrics

At its base case gold price of A$2,100 per ounce gold, the Davyhurst Gold Project is forecast to deliver:

➢ Post-tax free cash flow of A$175 million;

➢ Average annual free cash flow of A$35 million;

➢ Rapid payback of 14 months; and

➢ Post-tax net present value (NPV) of A$137 million.

The life-of-mine production forecast is at 418,000 ounces of gold for the life-of-mine or 81,000 ounces per year of gold.

The DFS has confirmed the project will generate strong cash flows and financial returns with its six distinct mining operations – Riverina, Missouri, Sand King, Waihi and Callion open pits and the Golden Eagle underground.

These six deposits will feed the Davyhurt Processing Plant.

District-scale landholding

Its district-scale land holding stretches from Kalgoorlie to the north of Menzies with significant exploration potential.

The tenement package consists of 111 granted tenements covering an area of about 1,350 square kilometres.

It has around 200 strike kilometres of greenstone sequences prospective for gold as well as nickel sulphide and base metal mineralisation.

At its Riverina South and underground prospects, it has confirmed an extension to the Riverina Main Lode mineralisation, which remains open along strike to the south and at depth.

It has a maiden resource estimate of 650,000 tonnes at 2.1 g/t for 43,000 ounces.

At the Riverina open pit and underground, 48 kilometres from the Davyhurst process plant, there is considerable scope to grow the resource and reserve base with its underground mining evaluation study in progress and confirmed…