Ora Banda Mining has mailed in another strong performance at its Davyhurst gold project in Western Australia, producing 23,150 ounces of gold in the March quarter and uncovering a potentially game-changing high-grade discovery.
The company’s gold sales rose 6 per cent to 23,643 ounces, lifting the total financial year-to-date sales to 71,467 ounces. This is also 6 per cent ahead of the last full-year’s output, with a full quarter remaining.
Ora Banda’s Riverina underground mine remains the backbone of production, having delivered 127,000 tonnes of ore at a stellar 4.6 grams per tonne (g/t), 10 per cent above its 4.2 g/t reserve grade.
The company says its Sand King underground mine continues to ramp up, producing its first stoping ore this quarter and yielding 3600 ounces at 3.4 g/t. This is also 6 per cent above reserve grade as the project tracks towards a steady-state production of 15,000 ounces a quarter by June.
Management also noted a $375 per ounce increase in its forecast all-in sustaining cost guidance for the year, driven by operational adjustments and elevated gold prices. The figure presents a slight hiccup in an otherwise stellar three-year operational turnaround for the company, which was more than compensated by a nearly $2000 per ounce gold price gain in the past year.
Ora Banda Mining managing director Luke Creagh said: "The biggest and most exciting results for the quarter were delivered by the drill bit. This includes the significant depth extensions to the Riverina orebody, as well as the greenfields discovery of Little Gem. We are very much looking forward to the continued exploration drilling at both of these systems.”
Ora Banda’s financial resilience continues thanks to record gold prices and the strongest market seen in more than 15 years. Its cash pile this quarter reached $80.7M, despite $28.6M spent on capital projects, including $18.9M for Riverina and Sand King development and $2.8M for infrastructure to position the company for future production growth at Davyhurst.
A six-day mill shutdown for upgrades reduced throughput by 7 per cent in the quarter, contributing to a revised financial year production guidance of 100,000–105,000 ounces. This was down from 100,000–110,000 ounces gold.
As Creagh suggested, the company’s biggest wins to start the year were delivered by the drill bit, with the recent discovery of its Little Gem prospect south of Riverina.
Drilling uncovered a multi-lode system that could considerably extend its mine life when fleshed out. The program returned stellar hits, including a discovery hole for a substantial 22.7 metres running 5g/t and 10.9m at 6.4g/t across two separate lodes.
A 16-hole follow-up program is now targeting 4.7 kilometres of prospective horizons, raising hopes the company can confirm a major discovery.
Ora Banda says Davyhurst production will continue to perform, noting its head grade climbed 7 per cent in the quarter to 3.1g/t as Sand King’s higher-grade ore replaced its low-grade stockpiles.
Impressively, planned upgrades in the June quarter are set to boost Davyhurst’s capacity to 1.4 million tonnes per annum.
Robust cash flows, high-grade production and plenty of exploration upside underscore a continued rise to power for Ora Banda and its projected growth trajectory. As gold prices hold at record highs, the company is forging ahead toward its 150,000-ounce annual target, which would cement its place as one of Australia’s rising gold producers.
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By Andrew Todd
