Greatland Resources’ Havieron deposit would pay itself off within five years at a gold price of $4,500 per ounce, the Forrest-backed producer has revealed, with management bullish on the long-term potential of the Telfer hub.
Greatland Resources’ Havieron deposit would pay itself off within five years at a gold price of $4,500 per ounce, the Forrest-backed producer has revealed, with management bullish on the long-term potential of the Telfer hub.
The long-awaited Havieron feasibility study was released to market this morning, mapping a path for the deposit to enter production through the existing Telfer goldmine at a pre-production cost just over $1 billion.
Greatland expects to fully fund the project from a mix of its $750 million bank balance, ongoing cashflow from the Telfer mine and a $500 million debt commitment from a lending syndicate of ANZ, HSBC, ING, NAB and Westpac.
The project has a net-present value of $4.2 billion pre-tax and $2.9 billion post-tax at the base case metal pricing used in the DFS - $4,500/oz for gold and $15,747 per tonne of copper.
At the current gold spot price of $6,250/oz, the project’s pre-tax value balloons to $7.9 billion.
Greatland’s numbers show the project has a post-tax internal rate of return of 22.5 per cent at the conservative gold price estimate – a rate which would see the project pay itself off within five years.
At current gold spot prices, the IRR lifts to 31.5 per cent.
Greatland managing director Shaun Day said study was an endorsement of the company’s plans to tap Havieron through the Telfer mine.
“Looking ahead, we look forward to obtaining the final permits required to take final investment decision and resume full development at Havieron, and to outlining our integrated Telfer-Havieron production plan,” he said.
“The potential is to develop Havieron in parallel extend the mine life of Telfer to achieve the full potential of the Greatland platform.”
Havieron holds the third-largest underground gold ore reserve outside of Newmont’s Cadia and Tanami projects.
The Havieron deposit and Telfer mine were also previously on Newmont’s books, but acquired by Greatland in a $700 million feal struck in September last year.
Greatland previously flagged a plan to produce gold from Havieron in the 2028 financial year, subject to approvals and a final investment decision.
The company believes it can extend the life of Telfer simultaneously, and has set targets for a Telfer mineral resource update in the March 2026 quarter followed by an ore reserve update in the following quarter.
A multi-year integrated Telfer-Havieron production outlook is slated for the 2027 financial year.
Speaking to Business News following the announcement, Mr Day said Greatland planned to drill 24,000 metres at Telfer over the year ahead in the belief that it had plenty of life left in it.
The West Dome underground project at Telfer has delivered strong results to date, and Mr Day said the asset had sat unloved in the hands of the majors which owned it previously.
“We are laser-focused on Havieron, we're laser focused on Telfer and effectively bringing that single Telfer hub to the market,” he told Business News.
“If you look at the grade, the 17-year mine life at Havieron and the all-in sustaining costs, this probably does belong in the portfolio of a major. But I think we can accelerate it, in terms of bringing it forward with a focus on it.”
Mr Day said he expected sustained high prices for gold in the current market, and that the $4,500/oz metric was consistent with measures used by others in the sector.
He backed the project to perform through the gold price cycle, with a life-of-mine all-in sustaining cost projection of $1,725/oz.
“What's unique about Havieron is the cost structure is so low that it works through the cycle," Mr Day said.
“Although we are a believer in a stronger-for-longer gold price, the reality is if the gold price comes off, Havieron will only shine brighter relative to its peer group.”
Andrew and Nicola Forrest own more than 8 per cent of Greatland through their private resources arm Wyloo.
Greatland shares were up more than 12 per cent in early trade, to $8.47.
