Capricorn Metals is continuing to expand its Mt Gibson gold project tenure by acquiring the nearby Mongers Lake project in the Murchison region of Western Australia.
Owned by Albion Resources, Mongers Lake covers approximately 113km² of land north of Mt Gibson and is considered highly prospective for gold mineralisation.
Capricorn will acquire Mongers Lake from Albion for $1.5 million, with the company already having paid $100,000 in cash. The balance will be paid through the issue of Capricorn shares.
Capricorn has also agreed to pay $750,000 once a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate in excess of 75,000 ounces (oz) is announced for Mongers Lake, as well as another $750,000 once it has commenced a commercial mining operation at the site.
“The acquisition of the Mongers Lake project continues the expansion of Capricorn’s Mt Gibson exploration footprint and adds highly prospective targets very close to the company’s current Mt Gibson resources,” Capricorn executive chairman Mark Clark said.
“This provides Capricorn with an outstanding exploration opportunity with a view to adding meaningful additional ore sources to the Mt Gibson operation. We look forward to commencing active exploration on the project in 2025.”
The transaction is expected to be completed in August, joining Capricorn’s portfolio of recently acquired gold projects, including the Claw project, Ninghan project, the Kings Find project, Mummaloo project, the Deadman Flat project and the Sylvania project.
Capricorn has also signed a binding scheme implementation deed to purchase Warriedar Resources, owner of Australia’s largest open pit antimony deposit.
Capricorn said acquiring Warriedar will add 1.38 million ounces (Moz) of gold and 60,000 tonnes of antimony to its mineral resource base of 6.8Moz, right as it has increased its Mt Gibson mineral resource to 4.5Moz.
In other Capricorn news, the Karlawinda gold mine in WA produced 32,216oz during the June quarter, a slight uptake from the previous quarter.
The result brings Capricorn’s total gold production for the 2024–25 financial year (FY25) to 117,076oz, which is the upper end of the company’s FY25 production guidance range of 110,000–120,000oz.
Capricorn also sold 35,821oz at an average price of $5137/oz, generating $184 million in revenue for the June quarter. It also achieved a record $85.7 million in quarterly cash flow.
Capricorn will progress with its Karlawinda expansion project, having received approval from the WA Government earlier this week.
Construction of Karlawinda’s 164-room camp continued throughout the quarter, with $4.1 million spent and construction largely completed.
The Karlawinda process plant design scope is approximately 60 per cent complete, with early clearing and bulk earthworks associated with the project underway.
The Mt Gibson process plant design scope is also approximately 55 per cent complete, with site layouts finalised and long lead items such as the ball mill, crushers and screens committed.
As of June 30, Capricorn holds $356.4 million in cash and gold on hand.
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