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Exploration drives 100% resources bump for Northern Star
The future is bright for Northern Star (ASX: NST), with the miner lifting its mineral resources to 70.7moz and ore reserves to 22.3moz.
The results, part of the company’s mineral resources and ore reserves update, are fuelled by exploration efforts driving further value creation.
At the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines operation (KCGM), mineral resources are up 100% and ore reserves are up 50% since acquisition five years ago at average discovery success of $13/oz.
KCGM mineral resources increased to 38.9moz, up 7.2moz, and ore reserves increased to 14.4moz, up 1.2moz, predominately driven by growth at Fimiston Underground.
At Kalgoorlie operations, mineral resources increased to 9moz, up 1.6moz, and ore reserves to 1.9moz, up .3moz.
At Jundee in WA, development commenced at recent exploration success Griffin, with exploration drilling contributing to an uplift in mineral resource to 6.4moz, up .5moz. Infill drilling is planned to address ore reserve decline.
Northern Star managing director Stuart Tonkin says the company continues to generate significant increases in group gold inventory through the drill bit.
“Exploration remains a highly attractive lever for us to create value by adding extra resource ounces at a cost of $20/oz, to help drive superior shareholder returns,” he said.
“Our portfolio of assets across tier-1 locations continues to deliver exploration success with a significant uplift to both group mineral resources and ore reserves.
“At our largest asset KCGM, the Mineral Resources across open pit, underground and regional areas increased 23% year-on-year, while ore reserves increased 9% year-on-year highlighting the ongoing potential to extend mine life.
“This update does not include the Hemi project, the world-class discovery we now own following the recent acquisition of De Grey Mining.
“We look forward to incorporating Hemi into our gold inventory, while progressing development for what will become our fourth production centre.”