Horizon Minerals (ASX:HRZ) has executed an open pit mining joint venture (JV) agreement with BML Ventures for the Phillips Find Gold Project in Western Australia.
While the company awaits for a mining proposal to be granted, mobilisation to site is expected to begin shortly, alongside site establishment and pre-production works. The first gold production is planned for the December 2024 quarter.
Horizon Minerals, which has a market capitalisation of $46.97 million, will also begin grade control drilling in preparation for mining.
Of the three existing open pits at Phillips Find, called Bacchus Gift, Newhaven, and Newminister, the company has proposed to cut back the Newminister and Newhaven open pits over 11 months.
The fleet will comprise of 120 tonne excavators and 100 tonne rigid dump trucks.
Under the JV, BML plans to establish site facilities during the mobilisation phase. BML will also sole fund the project, and once costs are recovered, surplus cash flow will be distributed to BML and Horizon Minerals on a 50:50 basis.
The ore will be processed under Horizon Minerals’ existing toll mining agreement with FMR Investments at the Greenfields mill.
CEO Grant Haywood says BML will manage and sole fund the Phillips Find JV, which derisks the project for the company, particularly from a financial perspective.
“We are pleased to have partnered up with BML Ventures, who have a proven track record of delivering projects in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia,” Haywood says.
“This agreement does not require any capital from Horizon and allows us to focus on our Boorara startup. The Cannon Project will be paused until sufficient cash flows are generated from our two production sites, Boorara and Phillips Find, to sole fund rather than joint venture.
“We look forward to generating cash over the next 19 months from two gold mining projects in this very strong gold price environment.”
The gold spot price is currently sitting at $3,649.50 per ounce, as reported by ABC Bullion.
Horizon Minerals says the proposed mining project lies 45km northwest of Coolgardie in Western Australia.
The project covers 10km of strike over prospective greenstone stratigraphy and includes the Phillips Find Mining Centre, where 33,000 ounces of gold has been produced between 1998 and December 2015 from three operations.
Phillips Find has a resource estimate of 73,000 tonnes at 2.3 grams per tonne gold for 54,360 ounces of contained gold.
Horizon Resources are attending the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum which is being held in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia from 5-7 August. Mining.com.au is also in attendance.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Horizon Minerals
