The initial pit, which is part of a larger resource, is expected to be wrapped up by October.
Beneath the surface, Munda is also flexing some serious gold muscle.
At a 0.5g/t cut-off, the deposit contains 3.65 million tonnes of ore grading at 1.23g/t for a solid 145,000 ounces of gold. If the cut-off is dropped to 0.2g/t, the resource swells to 189,000 ounces across the indicated and inferred categories.
A 2023 scoping study by Kalgoorlie-based Minecomp ran the ruler over the broader Munda project and liked what it saw. Using a now-outdated base-case gold price of $2600 per ounce, the numbers pointed to 1.716Mt at an impressive 2.2g/t, which translates to a juicy $76.9 million in undiscounted surplus cash flow.
It is anyoneโs guess what that figure could balloon to in todayโs hyper-bullish gold price environment.
When the first mining phase is complete, Auric plans to finalise detailed plans for a much larger pit development at Munda, which is slated to begin in 2026.
The early $6.5 million development cost has been fully funded from gold sales generated by Auricโs Jeffreys Find project near Norseman, avoiding the need for further capital raisings or share price dilution. It also kills several other birds with one stone.
By removing overburden – with a pre-strip ratio of 7.6:1 – while gold prices are strong, the company says it is likely to cut future mining costs and build resilience into the broader Munda operation against potential market swings.
The initial phase will also deliver critical insights into the larger deposit, giving Auric a chance to refine its strategy ahead of scaling up to full production.
Meanwhile, work preparing the site for longer-term operations is in full swing. Auric has completed waste dump and run-of-mine pad preparation, setting the scene for efficient ore handling and stockpiling as mining ramps up.
Given its proximity to established infrastructure and a gold price that continues to sparkle, Munda is shaping up as a key revenue driver for Auric, especially given its unhedged status, which the company says will give it full exposure to market upside.
As the gold price flirts with record territory, it appears Auricโs timing couldnโt be better. With equipment on the ground, blasting underway and ounces soon to be hauled out of the earth, the company is ticking every box on the path to early cash flow and long-term expansion.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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