Noble Mineral Resources (ASX:NMG) CEO Alex Passmore told an audience at a company presentation that the past 12 months have been “really, really exciting,” highlighting the company’s transition into production at its Crown Prince open pit mine in Western Australia’s Murchison Goldfield near Meekatharra.
Passmore said the company, which he noted is currently capitalized at around A$620 million, has benefited from an improving gold price and a strong share price performance over the last year. He attributed momentum not only to the broader gold market, but also to bringing Crown Prince into production and generating cash flow in what he described as a stable jurisdiction.
Production start and processing partnership
A key step in accelerating production, Passmore said, was striking an ore purchase agreement with Westgold, which owns the Bluebird Mill located about 36 kilometers south of Crown Prince. Under the arrangement, Noble hauls ore to Bluebird for processing. While the agreement envisioned shipments in the range of roughly 30,000 to 50,000 tonnes per month, Passmore said the relationship has been working well enough that Noble is “quite comfortably doing 60,000 tons per month” currently, with volumes agreed month by month.
He framed the Westgold partnership as the most valuable commercialization pathway after considering options that included building its own mill, selling the project, or using third-party processing.
Recent performance and cash costs
Passmore said the September quarter included only a small amount of production as first gold sales were made, while the December quarter represented the first full quarter of production. In the December quarter, he reported:
- 184,000 tonnes produced at 4 grams per tonne
- 22,700 ounces sold to Westgold
- Cash cost of around A$2,200 per ounce
He compared that cost level to a gold price he cited of around A$7,000, characterizing margins as “fairly good.” Passmore also provided detail on the company’s cost structure, saying it includes payments to Westgold for processing—described as A$30 to A$45 per tonne and “currently at the low end” of that range—plus an additional margin that he characterized as a return to Westgold for Noble not having to build a mill. Mining costs and haulage to the Bluebird facility make up the remaining major components.
Passmore said the December quarter performance “let us generate about A$72 million,” and added that what the company is seeing in January and February suggests a similar run rate of about A$25 million in free cash flow per month.
Operational stabilization and near-mine growth
With the mine now operating, Passmore said the company is shifting from the rapid pace required to reach production to a focus on optimization and stability. He cited areas including staffing, equipment selection, drill-and-blast practices, pit wall stability, and dewatering. “We feel very confident in how we’ve stabilized the operation,” he said, positioning the company to expand its mineral resource base and pursue growth beyond the current mine plan.
Passmore described growth planning in two broad categories: near-term, near-mine growth at Crown Prince and regional growth across the company’s broader tenement package. He noted that the Crown Prince operation includes the West Pit and longer-strike opportunities including Crown Prince East, which he indicated will be discussed more as a growth project.
He also referenced a pit design that spans three years with a conceptual underground component below it. Passmore said Noble’s ore reserve stands at 140,000 ounces for the first open pit and that the company sees potential for a longer mine life, but still has work to do, including updating the reserve by mid-year.
Lydia project outlined as next production opportunity
Passmore identified Lydia as another area expected to contribute to the production profile. He described conceptual pit designs targeting higher-grade portions of Lydia mineralization and said the company believes there may be a third pit on the tenement. He added that Noble is looking forward to bringing Lydia open pit production online this year.
As examples of grades at Lydia, Passmore cited the following drill results:
- 3 meters at 33 g/t from 46 meters
- 9.1 meters at 10.3 g/t from 89 meters
- 8 meters at 9 g/t from 20 meters
In closing, Passmore said Noble’s plan is to move targets from exploration to production, optimize current operations, and expand longer-term production through regional targeting. He noted that four rigs are currently operating across the Abbotts Greenstone Belt, with news flow expected from both greenfields opportunities and incremental resource growth.
About Noble Mineral Resources (ASX:NMG)
Noble Mineral Resources Limited (Noble) is an Australia-based company exploring for and developing large-scale gold deposits in the goldfields of Ghana, West Africa. Production has commenced at the company’s Bibiani Gold Project after the first gold pour in March 2012. The Bibiani Project is located in the Sefwi-Bibiani Gold Belt in Ghana, 250 kilometers North-West of Accra and has a JORC-compliant mineral inventory of 2.8Moz of resources, including 972,000oz of reserves, and a 3Mtpa Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) gold processing facility.
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