Meeka Metals has demonstrated the growing capacity of its Murchison gold processing plant in WA, lifting throughput by a notable 37 per cent to 123,000 tonnes in the March quarter and swelling its cash reserves to a healthy $50.1 million.
The strong operational performance came despite soggy conditions that restricted access to high-grade open pits, leading to a quarterly gold pour of 6083 ounces as the company processed lower-grade stockpiles to keep the mill humming.
The company says its head grade for the quarter came in at 1.6 grams per tonne gold (g/t).
With clear skies ahead, Meeka says the delayed high-grade ore from its Turnberry Central and South pits is set to be fed into the plant during the current June quarter, heralding a return to higher-grade processing and a likely uplift in gold production.
The company's ability to push more tonnes through the plant, even when dealing with wet and sticky oxide ore, speaks to the robustness of the circuit.
Management says it expects throughput in the June quarter to remain consistent with the March quarter, before climbing again in the September quarter.
Meeka Metals managing director Tim Davidson said: “While it was a frustrating quarter from a production perspective, we saw significant improvement in process plant throughput, a 37% quarter-on-quarter increase in tonnes processed. This was achieved despite the moisture content of the oxide ore processed often being above 15%, which impacted the processing team's ability to further lift the plant throughput."
The Murchison project, outside Meekatharra in WA, is underpinned by a 1.2-million-ounce mineral resource grading 3g/t gold.
The March quarter performance saw Meeka take its cash balance to $50.1 million from $37.3 million at the end of December, providing a strong buffer and ample funding for its ongoing development and ounce-adding activities.
With no debt beyond equipment finance, full exposure to gold prices and multiple shallow high-grade extensions feeding the plant, Meeka’s Murchison operation is shaping up as a solid cash generator with clear growth ahead.
Since its first gold pour last July, the project has quickly settled into steady production while continuing to grow its resource base.
And while Mother Nature may have temporarily thrown a spanner in the works for Meeka’s mine plan, the company appears to have turned the challenge into an opportunity.
By stress-testing its plant with higher-than-planned throughput and still managing to stack some cash. Meeka has set the stage for what could be a bumper June quarter as the high-grade ore finally meets the mill.
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By Andrew Todd
