Auric Mining (ASX:AWJ) has generated $6.3 million from gold sales during the second gold milling campaign for this year from the Jeffreys Find Gold Mine in Western Australia.
Three parcels of gold were sold at an average of $3,697 per ounce. As reported by the ABC Bullion, gold’s spot price is currently sitting at $3,721.81 per ounce.
Auric Mining, which has a market capitalisation of $35.65 million, says it has generated $10.8 million in the entire campaign.
Managing Director Mark English says this is a satisfying result which reflects the surging gold price.
“Over the coming months, Jeffreys Find Gold Mine is expected to generate around $25 million in gross gold sales as 150,000 tonnes gets processed at the mill,” English says.
“Everything is right on target. Auric will bank cash within the month, $3 million in total, being an initial $2 million surplus cash distribution from the joint venture, plus the repayment of $1 million working capital contribution.
“We are now at the midpoint of mining at Jeffreys Find. It will perform much better than originally anticipated.”
English adds that the mill contract is to process 300,000 tonnes this year.
The 150,000 tonnes parcel is considered to be the “largest” campaign for the year from Jeffreys Find.
“This leaves a further additional 120,000 tonnes for milling at Greenfields towards the end of 2024,” he says.
“On current projections, we will extract in excess of 20,000 ounces of gold this year. This would be a phenomenal result for Auric.”
The joint venture is between Auric and BML Ventures. BML are the miners, operators, and managers of the Jeffreys Find Project.
After selling the gold, the partners subtract all direct costs before splitting the surplus cash proceeds on a 50:50 basis.
Australia is considered the world’s third largest producer of gold, as of 2022, according to the Department of Industry Science and Resources’ (DISR) latest Resources and Energy Quarterly for June 2024.
Gold production in Australia decreased 4% year-on-year in the March quarter of this year, due to lower grades and disruptions from heavy rainfall. However, production is forecast to grow over the outlook period as major new projects and expansions come online.
Further, gold export earnings are anticipated to reach a record $33 billion between 2023-24, while easing to around $31 billion the following year, as prices begin to decline from record levels in Australian dollar terms.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Auric Mining
