The company purchased Henty in early 2021, and has been focused on resetting the mine’s resources, and developing what it aims to be a more sophisticated and stable operation, overcoming years of underinvestment by previous owners.
Catalyst announced it had more than replaced depletion with resources of 368,000 ounces grading 4.3 grams per tonne in September.
Now it has delivered reserves of 983,000t grading 3.6 grams per tonne for 115,000oz, based on a A$2600/oz gold price and 2.7gpt breakeven cut-off.
That underpins production beyond 2027 using its 300,000tpa mill at capacity.
New managing director James Champion de Crespigny said Henty’s future was looking bright given it had been able to convert 55% of indicated resources to reserves.
Its investment had increased total resources by 20% since taking on the mine.
“This reserve is key strategic milestone for Henty because it underpins our growth plan and highlights the project’s increasingly strong future,” he said.
“The anticipated Henty mine life now extends beyond five years using a mine plan which incorporates the increased production rates being targeted in coming years”.
He said Henty now had a stable platform for further development.
But the operation struggled during the September quarter.
Production fell from 6397oz at all-in sustaining costs of $2100/oz in the June quarter to 5923oz at $2658/oz, with the blame put towards high COVID-19 absenteeism, stockpile movements and increased exploration cost.
The company said while its recent performance appeared poor, it was in line with expectations as it strived to increase production from 25,000ozpa to 35,000ozpa.
Costs should normalise in early 2023, when a new resource update is due.
Cash at the end of September was $17 million.
