The company said it had poured 8916 ounces of the yellow metal since May, as it put its mill through its commissioning paces, and expects the plant will complete its ramp-up and settle into its nameplate production rate of 2.4 million tonnes per annum this month.
The plant has been pushed to an annualised 2.8Mtpa, with no major bottlenecks identified during processing of some 327,000t of low-grade, commissioning and ROM ore.
The first material was introduced to the mill in late April, with the first bullion was poured in early May.
At the mine, the rate has hit its stride at 20,000 bulk cubic metres per day, above the average requirement of 18,500bcm per day. To maintain that rate, it has secured a new excavator and hired additional staff.
Gold sales to date have generated $22 million cash, allowing it to make its first $3 million debt repayment to Macquarie Bank as scheduled, and end the June quarter with $19.8 million cash.
A further 1192oz of gold is in the mill circuit.
Warrawoona is targeted to produce an average of 90,000ozpa, peaking at 105,000oz, over eight years, at all-in sustaining costs of $1290/oz.
The project has a post-tax net present value of $245 million, an internal rate of return of 57%, and a 15-month payback period at a gold price of $2355/oz.
Gold is currently trading at more than $2650/oz.
Calidus is completing a definitive feasibility study on Blue Spec deposit that could see production rise to 139,000ozpa.
The miner is one of two new gold producers in the Pilbara, with the other being Capricorn Metals at Karlawinda, which was commissioned in mid-2021 and posted a record quarter in April.
The other gold miner in the province, Novo Resources, recently announced it was suspending its Beatons Creek operation, just south of Warrawoona, due to operational issues.
