Gold miner Auric Mining has swiftly returned to work at its Munda operation in Western Australia, gearing up for a second and potentially more lucrative phase of gold production.
Stockpile Ready for Processing
Following the holiday break, earthmoving equipment is back in action at the Munda gold mine located near Widgiemooltha. The company is currently hauling fresh ore from the Starter Pit to the Lakewood mill near Kalgoorlie, which is operated by Black Cat. This marks the beginning of preparations for Auric's second toll treatment campaign.
By the end of December, the company had already accumulated approximately 67,000 tonnes of high-grade ore on the run-of-mine pad at the site. This substantial stockpile will form the core feed for the upcoming processing run, which is scheduled to commence shortly. The resulting gold sales are anticipated by late February.
Perfect Timing in a Booming Market
The timing for this new production campaign appears exceptionally favourable. Gold prices are currently hovering near record highs of almost A$7000 per ounce, with strong market momentum showing little sign of abating.
For a junior miner like Auric, the cash flow from this run could be transformative. The company's first toll treatment campaign in November processed 57,900 dry tonnes to produce 2718 ounces of gold. This generated $16.85 million in sales revenue, resulting in a net cash inflow of $10.82 million after all costs were accounted for.
That initial success was achieved when gold was trading roughly 13% lower than current prices, with Auric realising an average of around A$6200 per ounce. The forthcoming campaign is forecast to process about 16% more material – 67,000 wet tonnes – with an expected improvement in ore grades. Combined with the soaring gold price, estimated production is projected to reach 3745 ounces, indicating a significant upside.
"With ore already stockpiled on the ROM and processing scheduled to begin later this month, we are now firmly focused on delivering our first cashflows for 2026," said Auric Mining's managing director, Mark English. "Given the current gold price, we expect the cash inflow to be substantial for a Company of Auric’s size."
Building Towards a Bigger Future
While the immediate focus is on extracting maximum value from the Munda Starter Pit, the company's long-term vision remains fixed on the larger Munda Main Pit. The step-by-step approach of mining, hauling, and processing on a smaller scale is designed to build operational experience and mitigate risk before any major expansion.
Detailed planning and initial scoping work for the Main Pit are slated for the first quarter of 2026. The project's fundamentals are robust: the current resource is estimated at 3.65 million tonnes grading 1.23 grams per tonne (g/t), equating to 145,000 ounces of gold at a 0.5g/t cut-off. Lowering the cut-off grade to 0.2g/t increases the resource to 189,000 ounces across indicated and inferred categories.
A 2023 scoping study by Kalgoorlie-based Minecomp, which used a conservative gold price of A$2600 an ounce, outlined a potential operation yielding an undiscounted cash surplus of A$76.9 million. In today's record gold market, those figures suggest even greater potential.
Auric's strategy of using its own mining fleet and toll-treatment partners allows it to avoid the capital intensity of mill ownership, enabling quicker monetisation of ore and recycling of capital back into the business. This measured, cash-flow-focused approach is resonating in a market cautious of junior miners embarking on large-scale builds without proven revenue.
With mining underway, haulage in progress, and processing locked in, Auric Mining is positioning itself to transition into a sustainable mid-tier gold producer. The progress at Munda serves as a timely example of how focused junior miners can create significant value by executing simple, operational plans efficiently.
