Greatland Gold reports recent progress at Havieron

31st Jul 2024 12:46

(Sharecast News) - Greatland Gold reported significant progress in the development of its Havieron project during the June quarter on Wednesday, alongside outlining an extensive exploration program for the 2025 financial year.

The AIM-traded company announced that the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia (EPA) had moved forward with assessing the approval for Havieron.

It said the joint venture manager was currently preparing additional information requested by the EPA to support the process.

Development work at Havieron was still advancing, with the project now exceeding 3,060 metres in total development, including more than 2,110 metres in the main access decline.

With only 80 vertical metres remaining before reaching the top of the Havieron orebody, the project was now over 80% complete in terms of vertical development.

The project had temporarily paused decline development to address the complexities of passing through the third and final lower confined aquifer (LCA) before reaching the orebody.

Greatland said the phase required the construction of three additional evaporation ponds, which were being developed to manage the dewatering process.

Despite the challenges, the infrastructure at Havieron remained in excellent condition, having withstood recent heavy rainfall without damage, ensuring that the portal and decline were well-maintained.

In a notable development, Greatland said its joint venture partner Newmont had declared its intention to divest its interest in Havieron, along with the nearby Telfer gold-copper mine, considering the assets as non-core.

Greatland held a right of last refusal in any potential sale by Newmont, positioning the company to potentially consolidate its ownership of Havieron on terms that could be beneficial to shareholders.

The company said it had also strengthened its management team, with the appointment of Dean Horton as chief financial officer from 1 July.

Horton brought over 25 years of experience in project debt financing within the resource and energy sectors, which was expected to be invaluable as Greatland progressed Havieron through its feasibility study, secured project financing, and moved toward commercial operations.

Looking ahead, Greatland had laid out a comprehensive exploration programme for 2025, building on the successes of the prior year.

The board said the programme included extensive on-ground activities such as drilling, surface sampling, and geophysical surveys.

In the Paterson region, over 1,000 surface samples had already been collected this year, with further sampling planned.

The company had completed a ground gravity survey at the Atlantis prospect in Paterson South, with results currently being processed.

At the Scallywag project, Greatland said it planned to conduct further surface sampling and drilling, particularly targeting the London prospect.

Additionally, the board said the Ernest Giles project had been expanded with the granting of two new exploration licences, increasing the total strike length under Greatland's control to 125 kilometres.

The 2025 programme at Ernest Giles would include comprehensive geophysical surveys and a planned 6,000 metres of drilling at the Meadows project.

Heritage surveys had been completed at key targets in both the Paterson and Ernest Giles regions, clearing the way for the planned drilling activities.

Furthermore, new tenement applications at Mt Egerton and Yannarie had the potential to further enhance the prospectivity of the projects.

"At Havieron, good progress was made in the quarter with the EPA's formal decision to assess the environmental approval application," said managing director Shaun Day.

"In respect of Newmont's announced intention to dispose of its interest in Havieron and nearby Telfer mine, we continue to consider ourselves strongly positioned for any potential opportunity to consolidate ownership of Havieron on accretive terms for our existing shareholders."

Day said "excellent progress" was being made across Greatland's exploration portfolio, with the board "pleased" to share a detailed review and look-ahead for its high priority exploration projects.

"The 2025 financial year promises to be a busy year for our exploration team and we look forward to providing updates on our activities."

At 1225 BST, shares in Greatland Gold were down 3.41% at 7.05p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.