NMR acquires ‘near-production’ gold assets

Native Mineral Resources (NMR) has picked up a suite of gold assets that gives the company what it believes to be a “clear path to production”.

The acquisition includes 17 granted mining leases (MLs), six exploration permits, a mineral development license and the Black Jack processing plant, which is in care and maintenance.

The Far Fanning, Black Jack and Great Britain prospects are central to the deal, with Far Fanning seeing intermittent mining take place since 1866. More than 44,000 ounces (oz) of gold have been produced from Far Fanning over the journey.

Far Fanning has a JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 2.3 million tonnes (Mt) at 1.84 grams per tonne (g/t) gold for 138,000oz.

Black Jack, which includes 12 granted MLs and a processing plant, spans three shallow oxide pits that were mined during the 1980s and treated by heap leaching. The Black Jack plant has a 340,000-tonne-per-annum capacity with a primary and secondary crushing system, 600-kilowatt ball mill and associated infrastructure.

Located next door to Black Jack, the Great Britain prospect contains an inferred JORC 2004 MRE of 1.54Mt at 2.2g/t gold for 109,000oz of gold.

NMR signed a binding agreement with Collins St Convertible Notes to acquire the assets, with $18.9 million in consideration to be paid off over 33 months with a two per cent royalty on any gold production.

“This acquisition is a transformative milestone for NMR,” NMR managing director Blake Cannavo said. “By securing two near-mine, advanced gold projects with robust resource potential, we are positioning ourselves to move rapidly towards production.

“This deal propels us from a junior explorer to a potential gold producer in under two years, significantly enhancing value for our shareholders.”

NMR plans to undertake resource definition and infill drilling to increase resource confidence at Far Fanning, with an updated MRE and feasibility studies to follow.