The ongoing cash distribution from Jeffreys Find is coming at a fortuitous time for Auric after it sealed a deal with WIN Metals on Tuesday to buy the lithium and nickel mineral rights above 150m at its Munda gold mine near Widgiemooltha in WA’s Goldfields region for $1.2 million. The completed transaction now allows the company to march full-steam ahead with its plans to extract the gold from what it considers its flagship operation.

In a scoping study last year, management outlined plans to open-pit mine between 112,000 and 129,000 ounces of gold across a three to five-year mining campaign and then have it toll treated by a third party at a local mill.
With a total resource of 200,000 ounces of gold and grades of more than 2 grams per tonne, as confirmed by recent grade-control drilling, the project is expected to spit out free surplus cash of $76.9 million using a gold price of $2600 per ounce.

However, in efforts to capitalise on today’s Australian gold price that is hovering at more than $3700 an ounce, Auric is hoping to deploy the proceeds of Jeffreys Find as soon as possible to develop a trial pit at site, potentially allowing it to then start mining at the beginning of next year. It means that the projected free cash flow numbers could eventually be substantially higher.

The Jeffreys Find gold mine remains the gift that keeps on giving to the company. And with the gold prices highs showing no signs of abating, expectations will be high that Munda can deliver an equally profitable rinse-and-repeat exercise.

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