This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Vertex Minerals. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
An Australian ‘high-grade’ gold developer and producer, Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) was listed by way of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in January 2022. Its flagship project is the 100%-owned Reward Gold Mine at Hill End in New South Wales (NSW), about 75km north of Bathurst and 225km northwest of Sydney. None of Reward’s production has been sold forward for hedging.
Hill End was at the centre of a gold rush from the 1850s to the 1890s. Famously, it was the site of the 1872 discovery of the Holtermann Nugget, a 1.5m-long specimen weighing around 290kg and containing 3,000 ounces (or more than 85kg) of gold — the largest single mass of the yellow metal ever discovered.
Vertex Minerals describes Reward as being part of a “big gold system”, a 25km-long line of strike with more than 3,500 old workings from the gold rush. Prior to Vertex Minerals’ involvement, some 1.8 million ounces had been extracted from Reward over its history. Reward sits just below the historic Hawkins Hill mine, which over its history produced 435,000 ounces at a grade of 309g/t Au.
The Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the Reward deposit stands at 419,000 tonnes at 16.72 g/t Au for 225,200 ounces of gold.
Financials
Over the last 18 months, the share price has ranged between $0.35 and the current level of $0.18. At present, the market capitalisation stands at around $50 million. Delays in the development of the mine contributed to softness in the share price in late 2025.
The company estimates that it inherited underground infrastructure worth $25 million. Pre-production costs during 2025 amounted to $25 million or so. In short, there is very little recognition of the improvement to cash flows that will come with the commissioning of Reward in the third quarter of 2026, nor of any longer-term ‘blue sky’ potential, nor of the latest strength in the gold price.
On 19 December 2025, and as reported by Mining.com.au, Vertex Minerals appointed Jim Simpson as Executive Director of Operations. A veteran with more than 35 years of experience in the global mining industry, he has held senior positions in Australia and Brazil.
In an announcement to the ASX on 16 February 2026, Simpson noted that the company was “currently reviewing the existing geological model to develop a robust mine plan for the life of mine (LOM). [The] immediate focus is advancing the mine into commercial production to ensure [the achievement of] the production targets set out in the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS).”
“I am equally focused on the longer-term expansion opportunities. The mine has incredible potential to scale up from the PFS and existing plans. The upside is that we have only drilled a small percentage of the Hill End mineralised zone.”
Reward’s pre-commissioning phase began in September 2025 and, as noted above, should continue to the third quarter of this year.
Ramping up production
While the mine is already producing gold and ramping up production, Simpson has plans to accelerate output — with a view to moving the mine to its nameplate capacity of 110,000 tonnes per annum. These plans include moves to achieve stoping earlier; higher mining grades; greater plant running times; and improved recoveries. Rehabilitation has been completed in Decline 3 of the mine, while work continues in Declines 2 and 3.
The latest news, as reported by Mining.com.au, has been consistent with all this. Mining services company RCT is installing an Aramine L350D mining loader at Reward. The small loader is specifically designed for mining of narrow veins such as those found at the mine.
Gold production in February 2026 amounted to 85 ounces, resulting in an improvement in revenues relative to those of January.
Vertex has been awarded exploration licence Dun Dun 9868 within the Hill End Project, which covers ground to the Hargraves licence — which the company also owns. This means that Vertex Minerals may explore for around 50km of contiguous geology along the trend.
Low environmental impact
Executive Chairman Roger Jackson says: “Vertex’s mining operations at Reward emphasise sustainability and low environmental impact. We use gravity to recover gold (particles up to 23 microns) from ore that has been crushed. There is minimal grinding. Crucially, there are no chemicals and no cyanide used in the process.”
“Reward is a low-cost operation. We require little water in the processing of ore — and it is all recycled. Our capex needs are low. It also helps that we have a skilled local workforce.
“Finally, our tailings basically consist of sand — and may have some commercial value.”
Next steps
Over the next six months or so, management’s focus will be entirely on getting Reward to a state in which full scale production begins — with the result that cash is generated and shareholder value is delivered. Further out, Vertex Minerals will be exploring at Fosters, some 400m to the south of Reward. Fosters sits within ground already covered by the company’s mining licences and development consent. An existing adit provides access to Fosters.
MREs for other projects in the vicinity of Hill End and for which Vertex Minerals holds the necessary permits are 2,319,000 tonnes at a grade of 2.4 g/t Au and 178,000 ounces of gold at Hargraves and 1,476,000 tonnes at 1.7 g/t Au and 80,000 ounces of gold at Red Hill.
Write to Andrew Hutchings at Mining.com.au
Images: Vertex Minerals
