This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Prodigy Gold. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
In the heart of the Northern Territory’s remote Tanami region, Prodigy Gold (ASX:PRX) is advancing a portfolio of gold projects across tenements spanning around 20,000km2 of both greenfields and brownfields ground. The company is building momentum through a mix of previously mined assets, fresh discoveries, and heavyweight partnerships.
Prodigy Gold’s recently released Scoping Study on Hyperion is a significant step for the company toward mine development, while also moving forward with plans to restart the Twin Bonanza Gold Mine.
Layered over this are two joint ventures (JVs) with Newmont Exploration, a subsidiary of Newmont (ASX:NEM; NYSE:NEM), currently completing a billion-dollar shaft expansion at Northern Tanami, and JVs with IGO (ASX:IGO) at the Lake Mackay Project.
Together, these developments validate Prodigy Gold’s evolution from pure explorer into a company with tangible pathways to production, supported by partnerships, approvals, and strong economics.
Managing Director Mark Edwards notes that the company’s significant resources spread across its key gold deposits and JV holdings are enabling the company’s growth.
“It’s a positive for a company of our size to be working in partnership with companies of their size,” Edwards says.
Newmont Tanami is a fly-in fly-out operation and is currently one of Australia’s largest underground gold mines. The Tanami Expansion 2 project confirms Newmont Tanami as a long-life, low-cost producer past 2040 with the addition of a 1,460m hoisting shaft alongside supporting infrastructure that will support 3.3 million tonnes of processing per year.
“With the money that Newmont is investing in its shaft at the Tanami operations, which is a billion-dollar-plus development, you would assume it’s looking for other opportunities around it and exploration would be part of that,” Edwards says.
“So, it is undertaking regional exploration and target generation, with the idea of having a large, long-term mine continuing in the Tanami region, which is one of its best global assets.”
In addition to Prodigy’s JVs, the company is also focused on its wholly owned projects, Tanami North — including Hyperion and Tregony — and Tanami West, which includes the Twin Bonanza Project and the Old Pirate and Buccaneer deposits.
Scoping Study signals ‘mine-ready’ potential
At the end of May 2026, Prodigy released the first Scoping Study for Hyperion, being the first time Prodigy has completed this type of project in at least a decade.
The Scoping Study outlines the potential for Hyperion to host a viable mining operation, highlighting it as a technically robust development opportunity.
“What it highlights is that the work that we’ve done over the last three or four years at Hyperion is warranted, with the idea that it could potentially be a mine, with a four-year mine life and open pit mining,” Edwards says.
Hyperion hosts a mineral resource of 9.8 million tonnes @ 1.4 grams per tonne gold for 454,000 ounces and continuity over 2km of strike. The deposit remains open along strike and at depth.
As previously reported, the Scoping Study estimates the project might be ready for development in early 2028, subject to required approvals and a processing agreement.
The study also outlines Hyperion as a conventional open pit operation using a staged mining approach for production of around 4.2 million tonnes @ 1.9g/t gold for 260,000 ounces over around four years and around five years of processing.
The Scoping Study assumes processing will take place at a third-party plant, and Edwards notes that Prodigy is currently in negotiations with Tanami Gold (ASX:TAM), which looks to restart its Central Tanami Project. The Central Tanami project is a 50:50 JV between Tanami Gold and MGX Resources (ASX:MGX).
“They’re looking to restart the Central Tanami Project, containing the Groundrush and Jims deposits (which are theirs [JV Tanami Gold and MGX Resources]). Hyperion would be complementary as one of the larger deposits in the district and the only unmined deposits of this scale,” Edwards says.
“Hyperion contains oxide mineralisation, which would be a positive to their projects. Hopefully we can negotiate a deal, which will clear the way to move forward with Hyperion and provide a processing pathway.”
Edwards also notes that the Scoping Study considers a conservative gold price of $4,250 per ounce, which is significantly lower than the current spot price. It outlines a discounted pre-tax cash flow of around $107 million and an internal rate of return of 63%.
“The Scoping Study shows that it’s a viable project. It has some conservativeness built in through a low gold price, and it warrants that we continue the work that we’re doing in the development of this deposit.”
Drilling, test work, and JV options on the table
Edwards notes that there is still work to be done at Hyperion.
“To progress to a prefeasibility-level document, we need to undertake additional drilling, geotechnical studies, and further metallurgical test work as well.”
Edwards adds that this is what the company needs for a Prefeasibility Study (PFS), and that it is open to doing so either under a JV, like its other projects, or through other agreements to assist in the project’s development.
“Outside the deposit area, it is just further exploration. What we’ve seen at Hyperion is the potential to grow this deposit underground, and we’ve already had some good hits.
“In 2024, we reported 10m @ 15.9g/t gold in one of the holes located underneath one of the pits. So, I would advance that as an underground target through some deeper drilling.”
Edwards also notes that Prodigy Gold has applied for a co-funded drilling program for an induced polarisation target, which is significantly deeper beneath the Hyperion deposit.
“If we can get the co-funding, the Northern Territory Government will pay for half the drilling costs. It’s a good program for us, and this drilling will be a pretty good step-out that aims to confirm what we already know and see there.”
Prodigy Gold has also partnered with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) on a study to better understand the structural and geochemical controls on mineralisation at Hyperion, allowing the company to better target deeper holes.
This study with CSIRO is close to completion and, once Prodigy receives the results, they will help to target drilling moving forward.
Edwards notes that the company’s other primary focus is the Twin Bonanza Project at Tanami West, which includes the Old Pirate deposit, the company’s ‘higher-grade’ project.
Old Pirate was previously mined and has a previously approved environmental impact assessment (EIA), which Edwards says allows the company to begin work within those bounds. However, before mining at the project could recommence, Prodigy still needs to seek approvals for an environmental mining licence through the Northern Territory Government.
“Mining Old Pirate would be small scale, with processing on-site through gravity recoveries, meaning it would be a low ounce, but high margin production,” Edwards says.
“At a $6,000 an ounce gold price, it certainly makes sense for us to try and restart that mine as quickly as we can.
“We’re around a $30 million market capitalisation company, so generating revenue from Old Pirate would be pretty significant for a company of our size.”
Edwards notes that with the current unpredictable nature of the global economy, gold as a store of wealth still makes sense.
“My opinion is that gold will remain at relatively high levels, and maybe even go higher again, but it’s hard to predict. I would suggest that with the instability in the world and the high levels of debt, there are a lot of reasons why gold will remain strong, particularly in the short- to medium-term.”
Approvals, infrastructure, and project restarts drive momentum
Prodigy Gold is marking several important milestones as it transitions from a pure greenfields explorer into a company with tangible development pathways.
At Twin Bonanza, the company is keeping the market up-to-date on progress as it works toward restarting operations.
At Hyperion, the project sits on a mining lease application, with Prodigy now working through the necessary steps to secure approvals. Discussions are underway on a potential agreement with Tanami Gold. However, while there are no guarantees, Edwards notes that shared synergies between the companies provide a strong foundation for negotiations in this remote region.
Infrastructure is also set to improve across the Tanami region, with both the Northern Territory and federal governments backing the bitumenisation of the Tanami Road from east to west. Once complete, this will significantly enhance access and reduce the impact of wet season disruptions, opening up new opportunities for development.
The release of Hyperion’s Scoping Study represents a major milestone for Prodigy, providing a clear pathway to convert more than 1 million ounces of gold resources into shareholder value.
Alongside this, the company is advancing plans to bring the Old Pirate mine back into production. With environmental approvals in place and further environmental licences pending, Old Pirate offers the potential for small-scale, high-margin output that could deliver meaningful revenue for a company of Prodigy’s size.
Together, these milestones highlight Prodigy Gold’s evolution into a developer with projects, approvals, and infrastructure improvements that support its growth trajectory in the Tanami region.
Write to Amy Rotman at Mining.com.au
Images: Mining.com.au, Prodigy Gold
