Horizon Minerals is nearing the end of open-pit mining at its Phase 1 program at Phillips Find and its Boorara gold projects near Kalgoorlie in WA’s Eastern Goldfields, with strong stockpiles built and first gold already flowing from both operations this year.
At Phillips Find, 45km north-northwest of Coolgardie, mining of the Newhaven and Newminster pit cutbacks under the company’s joint venture with BML Ventures is winding down.
BML Ventures Pty Ltd is a Western Australian-based mining services company specialising in open-pit development, mining operations and project management in the Eastern Goldfields region.
BML partners with miners like Horizon by fully funding all costs while handling all technical, operational and maintenance roles. It then recoups costs from gold sales before sharing net cashflows, typically on a 50/50 basis post-recovery.
Three initial toll-treatment campaigns at FMR Investments’ Greenfields mill delivered 98,945 tonnes at 1.65g/t gold for 4954 ounces of gold recovered, with the first gold being poured in February.
Fortuitously, mining exceeded the original 200,000-tonne Phase 1 plan, leaving about 120,000 tonnes of high-grade and 22,000 tonnes of low-grade ore on the ROM pad.
BML has now secured a new binding toll-milling agreement for the 120,000 tonnes of high-grade material at a nearby plant, with haulage already underway, about 90,000 tonnes stockpiled and processing slated for the current December quarter. Final distributions are expected in January 2026.
The remaining Phillips Find ore will be treated at Focus Minerals’ Three Mile Hill plant from January 2026
Horizon Minerals managing director and CEO Grant Haywood said: “We are very pleased with the progress at Phillips Find, with this project aiming to generate strong cashflows from the increased high grade tonnages being mined and processed in a strong gold price environment. We expect our cash at bank to rise rapidly in the first months of 2026 as we advance our plans to be the next emerging mid-tier gold producer in the WA Goldfields.”
At Horizon’s flagship Boorara project, just 10km east of Kalgoorlie, mining is also on track for completion in this December quarter.
Since operations began in August 2024, Horizon has generated substantial stockpiles totalling 464,000 tonnes, comprising 289,000 tonnes of high-grade ore at 1.14 g/t, 30,000 tonnes of medium-grade ore at 1g/t and 145,000 tonnes of low-grade material at 0.61g/t.
Ore is being processed under an existing ore purchase agreement with Norton Gold Fields at the Paddington mill, where the company’s first Boorara gold was poured in January.
Although Paddington temporarily reduced customer haulage by around 45% from mid-October to prioritise its own feed, it has confirmed volumes will return to contracted levels by early December.
Some cashflows originally expected from this quarter and the next are now deferred into the March and June 2026 quarters.
With the Australian gold price currently at A$6274 per ounce - well above the A$3600 per ounce used in the company’s original Boorara feasibility study - the estimated unaudited cash balance stood at A$33.2 million at the end of October.
The current Boorara high-grade stockpile alone is estimated to generate about A$25.7 million in free cashflow at a realised price of A$6113 per ounce.
An additional A$30 million is expected to further top up the kitty by the end of January next year out of the imminent sale of Horizon’s non-core Lake Johnston assets to Forrestania Resources.
With mining at Phillips Find and Boorara nearing completion, Horizon Minerals is well down its path of transition from developer to consistent gold producer.
Management will have Boorara ore processing running to Q2 2026 with multiple emerging potential revenue streams from the company’s broader portfolio, including from its refurbished Black Swan processing hub targeting 100,000 tonnes per year and first production in late 2026.
Coupled with other reserved toll treating slots for up to 87,000 tonnes giving flexibility, Horizon looks set to further bolster its already strong cash balance sheet through 2026.
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By Doug Bright
