Kaiser Reef's Henty Gold Production Drives Cash Reserves to $43.1 Million
Kaiser Reef has delivered a powerful financial performance, bolstering its coffers by a substantial A$13.7 million to reach a closing cash balance of A$43.1 million. This impressive surge is underpinned by strong quarterly gold production from both its flagship Henty gold mine in Tasmania and its Maldon operation in Victoria.
Robust Production and Financial Metrics
The company's primary Henty operation produced 6,946 ounces of gold, accompanied by 6,526 ounces of silver as a valuable by-product credit. Additionally, the Maldon mine contributed a further 715 ounces of gold to the quarterly tally.
This production performance has generated a robust underlying cashflow of $15.9 million, before accounting for costs associated with the A1 mine transition, which is now on care and maintenance. Realised gold sales for the period reached 8,546 ounces, achieving an average price of A$6,024 per ounce.
Henty Mine Achieves Operational Excellence
During its second full quarter under Kaiser ownership, the Henty mine processed 65,765 tonnes of ore at a solid grade of 3.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, with an impressive recovery rate of 90.5 per cent.
The mine's ore reserve experienced a significant 29 per cent increase during the quarter, now standing at 1.89 million tonnes grading 3.28g/t gold, containing approximately 199,000 ounces of gold. This expansion extends the mine's operational life beyond six years and supports Kaiser's ambitious target of achieving consistent annual output exceeding 30,000 ounces by the end of 2026.
The mineral resource has remained steady at 4.11 million tonnes grading 3.32g/t gold, representing a total of 438,000 ounces of gold.
Infrastructure and Processing Advancements
Kaiser Reef successfully tested its processing throughput rate up to 400,000 tonnes per annum, representing a commendable 33 per cent increase over the plant's nameplate capacity. Ongoing circuit optimisation is expected to deliver further efficiency gains in the coming quarters.
The company has made substantial capital investments, including:
- Deployment of a second underground diamond drill rig for exploration and resource extension
- Relocation of the underground magazine, unlocking approximately 12,800 ounces of potential gold production
- Commissioning of two higher capacity underground trucks
- Completion of a decline bypass
- Obtaining necessary approvals for tailings storage facilities
"Henty continues to perform strongly and has had a second strong quarter of production under Kaiser's ownership," stated Kaiser Reef managing director Brad Valiukas. "We are reinvesting back into the mine with drilling, infrastructure and equipment, targeting a consistent +30koz Au run rate from FY 2026."
Maldon Operations Focus on Historical Assets
At the Maldon operation, the company has shifted its focus to unlocking value from historical assets. A diamond drilling program in the Union Hill open pit, targeting the Eaglehawk Reef, intersected gold mineralisation in 18 of 19 effective holes over a 160-metre strike.
Notable intercepts included:
- 5.8 metres at 5.37g/t gold from 39m depth, including 2.5m at 10.25g/t gold
- 6.9m at 6.05g/t gold from 30.4m depth, including 1.98m at 16.44g/t gold from 32.2m
These promising results support plans for potential underground follow-up drilling to test down-dip extensions of the historically productive Eaglehawk Reef, which yielded an impressive 491,000 ounces before 1926.
Waste Dump Investigations Yield Positive Results
Drilling of the Union Hill waste dump has been completed, with 163 holes drilled over 2,212 metres. The program aimed to verify encouraging results from previous channel sampling that averaged 0.6g/t gold.
Kaiser estimates the dump could contain more than 410,000 cubic metres of potentially partly-mineralised waste. Final assays from the dump sampling program and grade-tonnage estimates will be available shortly.
Similar investigations continued at the Nuggetty waste dump, located 1.5km north of the Union Hill pit. Results from 321 waste rock-chip samples over a large area have averaged 1.8g/t gold.
Processing Plant Performance and Future Outlook
The Porcupine Flat processing plant treated 12,430 tonnes of material, recovering 715 ounces of gold at an overall recovery rate of 86.8 per cent. This included mullock from Union Hill amounting to 6,993 tonnes at 1.26g/t gold, while third-party ore parcels contributed 254 ounces, representing approximately 36 per cent of total gold produced.
The A1 Gold Mine remains on care and maintenance following workforce redundancies, with equipment being relocated to support Union Hill rehabilitation ahead of planned underground drilling activities.
Kaiser Reef maintains a strengthening balance sheet as a profitable Eastern States gold producer. The Henty operation provides reliable output and cash generation, while Maldon offers significant near-term exploration and redevelopment potential from its rich historical endowment.
