Vault Minerals is climbing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), with its share price up 13.16 per cent rise over the past six months.
The rally extends to 30.3 per cent for the year to date, as the company gained a significant ore reserve upgrade at its flagship King of the Hills (KOTH) gold operation in Western Australia.
The KOTH open pit ore reserve has increased by 33 per cent to 110 million tonnes at 0.61 grams per tonne for 2.2 million ounces of contained gold, following a 97,065oz mine depletion.
The 572,000oz reserve boost, based on a 0.23g/t cut-off grade, underpins an 18-year mine life and provides a strong foundation for Vault’s two-stage plant expansion.
“The increase in volume of the KOTH open pit ore reserve is primarily driven by the extension of the northern limits from Stage 4 to Stage 5,” Vault said.
“The distribution of ounces between the stages provides valuable optionality with the higher strip Stage 5 scheduled to commence waste stripping in FY32, thereby providing scheduling flexibility to adjust the operating strategy in response to any long-term gold price volatility.”
Vault is currently progressing its KOTH expansion to lift processing throughput to 6 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) by the fourth quarter of the 2024-26 financial year (FY26) and to 7.5 million tonnes per annum by late the second quarter FY27.
“The Stage 2 plant upgrade will now dovetail with the Stage 1 upgrade,” Vault said. “Stage 2 capital is expected to be approximately $92 million … delivering a 50 per cent increase in plant throughput, increased gold recovery, and lower unit costs.”
With average gold production forecast at 215,000oz over the next five years, peaking at 235,000oz, investors are clearly responding to Vault’s long-term growth outlook and operational momentum.
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