Ramelius Resources has begun building the processing capacity behind its growth plan, awarding Primero an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a new 3 million tonne a year Circuit 2 at its Mt Magnet hub in Western Australia. The circuit will run alongside the existing 2 million tonne a year plant, lifting installed capacity to about 5 million tonnes a year, with the upgraded plant targeted for completion by the December 2027 quarter and full operations in early 2028. Stage 1 works in the September quarter integrated a new crusher and gravity tower into the existing circuit.
The build serves a four year outlook lifted in September: group production of 560,000 to 610,000 ounces by FY30, an 11 percent uplift on the prior plan, with the Mt Magnet plant estimate rising to A$280 million from A$223 million and the Eridanus cutback to A$458 million. Mt Magnet is planned as the central hub for ore from Cue, Penny and Dalgaranga, including the high grade Never Never underground deposit, and the company says the hub is on track to a mine life beyond 15 years, out to 2043.
The quarter itself was softer. Production was 48,839 ounces at an all in sustaining cost of A$2,656 an ounce, with wet weather interrupting haulage from the Penny mine and ore stockpiled for December quarter processing. Ramelius still maintained FY27 guidance of 205,000 to 225,000 ounces at an AISC of A$2,150 to A$2,350 an ounce, and spent A$23 million on exploration across more than 39,000 metres of drilling.
The balance sheet funds the ambition internally. The A$300 million sale of Edna May to Forrestania Resources, A$210 million in cash and A$90 million in shares, left Ramelius with A$768 million in cash and gold at quarter end. At Rebecca-Roe, the second growth platform, a Part V works approval for Roe has been granted and mining approvals are being pursued. Gold miners fell 1.82 percent in the latest market tables even as spot gold rose 0.59 percent, a divergence that leaves Ramelius’s build priced on execution rather than on the metal.