The grant of the tailings facility and water storage permits from the Western Australian Department of Water and Environmental Regulation were the only outstanding approvals required for the Bellevue gold mine.
Bellevue said construction and underground development were running on time and on budget, with first gold expected in the December quarter.
The 1 million tonne per annum project is expected to produce 200,000ozpa at all-in sustaining costs of $1000-1100/oz over at least 10 years.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Alex Barkley said with the project de-risked, the focus would move to first production.
“With Bellevue closing Q3FY23 with $69 million in cash, and undrawn bank debt of $165 million, we see the company having enough liquidity to reach first production,” he said.
“In FY24, we expect Bellevue to produce 150,000oz at an AISC of $1370/oz.”
Barkley said further upside could come via Bellevue’s potential future inclusion in the GDX index, positive grade reconciliation and a mill expansion.
He kept his outperform rating and $1.50 price target unchanged.
