John Dorward, ex-Roxgold and Fronteer Gold, will become executive chairman of Ausgold, with existing managing director Dr Matt Greentree remaining in his role.
Adrian Goldstone has also been appointed to the board — as a non-exec director — while longstanding directors Richard Lockwood and Denis Rakich are exiting.
Dorward said: “Ausgold’s growth potential and dominant ownership in the southwest Yilgarn Craton reminds me of Fronteer Gold, where I was VP-Corporate Development, which opened up a new frontier with its two-million-ounce Long Canyon Gold Project in under-explored eastern Nevada.”
Fronteer was ultimately bought out by heavyweight major Newmont in a C$2.3 billion deal in 2011.
More recently, Dorward was president of Roxgold, an Africa-focused gold developer and miner acquired by Fortuna Silver Mines in a 2021 scrip deal valued at US$884 million.
Ausgold is a circa A$70 million capitalised company in the process of completing a definitive feasibility study by mid-year.
It completed a pre-feasibility study in August 2022 that pointed to a A$225 million development producing an average of 126,000 ounces per annum.
Back then, it calculated $555 million of after-tax free cashflow being generated over the main six-year production period using a $2300 per ounce gold price — versus the current gold price that is well over $3500/oz.
Payback was put at 1.7 years, with a post-tax IRR of 40.7%.
The post-tax NPV was put at $364 million.
Again, that number used a $2300/oz gold price.
