Horizon reshapes WA plant plans amid gold price surge

Horizon Minerals has pushed back its Black Swan plant conversion feasibility study near Kalgoorlie into the new year, opting to reassess project economics amid record gold prices.

The company says delivery is now slated for the March quarter as it explores ramped-up throughput options buoyed by soaring gold prices, currently nudging past A$6700 per ounce. 

The rethink has been sparked by new modelling that could turbocharge Black Swan’s throughput from 1.5Mtpa to 2.2Mtpa. The work stacks fresh upside onto a near-finished pre-feasibility study that already points to a mine life stretching beyond five years in one of the planet’s hottest gold addresses.

Horizon says a robust gold market has opened the door to an extended minimum mine life of 5.5 years, boosting the project's scale and potential free cash flows. 

The company says the pre-feasibility and mining studies for the baseline operation are well advanced, with the delay allowing for optimised scheduling that could enhance output and economics at Black Swan.

A final investment decision should shortly follow the study's release, with first gold from Black Swan targeted for late 2026. 

The revamped plant will form the backbone of Horizon's hub-and-spoke approach in the Goldfields, drawing on its flagship deposits at Boorara, Burbanks and others, all within trucking distance to supply ore. 

Recent drilling at Burbanks has delivered some extremely high-grade intercepts, while Boorara continues to generate revenue through Horizon’s existing toll milling operation, bolstering cash reserves.

Additional ultra-high-grade resource drilling has also highlighted the company’s Burbank deposit's strong grade and underground mining potential, which continues to underpin Horizon’s long-term growth strategy in the region.

The project sits nine kilometres south of Coolgardie and is well-positioned near established infrastructure, power and water, while the plant itself is currently undergoing a fast-tracked refurbishment, converting the former major nickel operation into a gold treatment facility. 

Backed by a 1.8-million-ounce gold resource across the region, Horizon's focus on scaling Black Swan positions the company to step up as Western Australia's next independent mid-tier gold producer.

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