Overview
Manuka Sources Restricted (ASX:MKR) is an ASX-listed mining firm targeted on gold and silver-gold tasks within the Cobar Basin, one among Australia’s most prolific producers of base and valuable metals. The corporate has 100% possession of two absolutely permitted valuable metals tasks within the Cobar Basin – the Mt Boppy gold mine and Wonawinta silver undertaking. As well as, MKR owns the Taranaki VTM iron sands undertaking in New Zealand.
The corporate revealed a phased technique targeted on delivering most worth to its shareholders. The primary section focuses on bringing again the Mt Boppy gold mine into manufacturing. The second section will contain restarting mining and manufacturing on the Wonawinta silver mine, whereas the third section will see the event of the Taranaki vanadium titano-magnetite (VTM) undertaking.
The Mt Boppy gold mine was traditionally one of many richest in NSW, Australia and produced ~500,000oz gold at a median grade of 15 grams per ton (g/t) gold. Accordingly, the corporate could be very enthusiastic about its exploration potential.
The present focus is on establishing a processing plant at Mt Boppy and recommence on-site gold manufacturing from This fall 2024. The ore from the Mt Boppy mine was beforehand being processed on the 850,000 to 1 million tpa processing plant at Wonawinta, positioned almost 150 kilometres south-west of Mt Boppy. That is about to vary as MKR has decided that it might save considerably on transportation prices in addition to manufacturing efficiencies by constructing an on-site processing plant at Mt Boppy, which can materially improve the undertaking economics.
MKR estimates the overall price of constructing the processing plant to be between AU$10 million and AU$15 million. In comparison with this, the annual price of hauling ore from Mt Boppy to Wonawinta is AU$6 million to AU$7 million (almost 50 p.c of the overall capex). MKR anticipates Mt Boppy to ship whole EBITDA of >AU$90 million and money movement of >AU$80 million over a five-year mine life. It is very important observe that the present market capitalization of MKR is simply AU$55.1 million, a lot decrease than the anticipated five-year EBITDA and money movement.
The preliminary five-year mine plan is essentially targeted on the screening and processing of gold-bearing waste materials above floor on the Mt Boppy mine web site. The corporate has been processing these wastes from June 2023 to December 2023 at its Wonawinta plant and now desires to optimize the method.
The money flows from the Mt Boppy mine shall be used to fund the restart of the Wonawinta silver mine, which is at present underneath care and upkeep. Wonawinta incorporates whole sources of 38.8 million tons (Mt) at 42 g/t silver for 52.4 million ounces (Moz). Inside this, there’s a higher-grade part of 4.5 Mt at 97 g/t silver for 14 Moz. Manuka Sources is focusing on a mineral useful resource replace for Wonawinta in Q2 2024. The Wonawinta silver undertaking would be the largest major silver producer in Australia and anticipated to be again in silver manufacturing inside 12 months.
The gold and silver market seems to be in an upward pattern, with costs for each valuable metals hitting their all-time excessive in 2024, which bodes very positively for MKR.
Firm Highlights
- Manuka Sources is an ASX-listed mining firm targeted on exploring and growing gold and silver belongings within the Cobar Basin in New South Wales, Australia.
- The corporate’s two principal belongings – the Mt Boppy Gold Mine and the Wonawinta Silver Mine – are each positioned within the prolific Cobar Basin. As well as, MKR holds a 100% curiosity within the Taranaki VTM iron sands undertaking, positioned in New Zealand.
- The first focus is on bringing the absolutely permitted Mt Boppy mine again into manufacturing by This fall 2024. The corporate goals to determine an on-site processing plant at Mt Boppy and in flip release the Wonawinta processing plant for silver manufacturing from the Wonawinta silver mine, which was getting used to course of Mt Boppy ore.
- The outcomes of the lately accomplished sonic drill program coupled with an up to date mineral sources estimate at Mt Boppy (100% improve in indicated gold ounces) enhance confidence within the recommencement of gold dore manufacturing at Mt Boppy.
- A devoted processing facility at Mt Boppy will enhance the undertaking economics and in addition enable for a further income stream by liberating up the Wonawinta processing plant to course of ore from the Wonawinta silver mine (positioned on care and upkeep in February 2024, and focusing on launch of its maiden silver reserve underneath Manuka possession earlier than the top of June 2024).
- The money flows from the Mt Boppy mine shall be used to fund the restart of the Wonawinta silver mine, which can also be anticipated to turn into operational by late Q1 or early Q2 2025.
- Elevated gold and silver costs ought to considerably profit Manuka Sources, leading to improved profitability and money flows because it brings each its gold and silver tasks into manufacturing.
Key Tasks
Mt Boppy Gold Challenge
The Mt Boppy gold undertaking includes three mining leases, 4 gold leases and one exploration license, spanning an space of greater than 210 sq. km. within the prolific Cobar Basin in New South Wales, Australia. The undertaking was acquired by Manuka in 2019, and has a present mineral useful resource of 4.3 Mt at 1.19 g/t gold. This features a mixture of oxidized and transitional/recent mineralization within the floor, in addition to mineralized rock dumps and tailings.
Traditionally, Manuka Sources has processed its stockpiles and gold mineralized waste merchandise by way of its Wonawinta processing plant. Nevertheless, inefficiencies related to trucking and processing ore on the distant Wonawinta plant has led the corporate to revise its technique. It’s now trying to assemble a processing plant at Mt Boppy in order that ore from the mine might be processed on-site. Mt Boppy has wonderful infrastructure together with a 48-person mine camp and is absolutely permitted for the proposed processing plant and on-site manufacturing.
As a precursor to the graduation of on-site manufacturing, Manuka Sources undertook a sonic drilling program at Mt Boppy to enhance confidence within the mineral useful resource base. A 26-borehole, 506-meter sonic drilling analysis program over the Mt Boppy rock dumps and dry tailings was accomplished in December 2023. This system led to a 100% improve in indicated sources in comparison with the earlier estimate.
The up to date mineral useful resource includes 4.28 Mt at 1.19 g/t gold for 163 koz of contained gold, of which 82 p.c is within the measured and indicated classes. An extra high-grade subset of the useful resource (together with open pit, rock dumps and tailings) comprising 1.8 Mt at 1.74 g/t containing 102 koz gold has been recognized as a foundation for future mine planning.
Following the outcomes of the sonic drill program, MKR decided to determine a 200,000 tpa processing plant at Mt Boppy. The corporate estimates a five-year mine life and a complete gold dore manufacturing of >48,000 ozover the preliminary mine life. The mine plan is pretty low in capex necessities with a complete deliberate capital price of AU$10 million to AU$15 million. Notably, the annual price of ore haulage from Mt Boppy to Wonawinta plant is AU$6 million to AU$7 million. Thus, the on-site plant will supply important price financial savings and enhance the undertaking economics.
Manuka Sources anticipates Mt Boppy to ship whole EBITDA of >AU$90 million and money movement of >AU$80 million over a five-year mine life.
Wonawinta Silver Mine Challenge
The Wonawinta silver mine undertaking includes one mining lease and 7 exploration licenses spanning a complete space of 920 sq. km. The Wonawinta undertaking hosts a useful resource of 38.8 Mt @ 42.0 g/t silver, equating to 52.4 Moz contained silver. Inside this there’s a higher-grade part of 4.5 Mt at 97 g/t silver for 14 Moz silver.
The Wonawinta plant
The Wonawinta undertaking is absolutely permitted with all the mandatory infrastructure, together with an 850,000 to 1 million tpa processing plant. The plant has been used for processing ore from Mt Boppy. The Wonawinta silver mine is at present underneath care and upkeep. The corporate is contemplating the potential of resuming operations at Wonawinta, leveraging the improved silver worth setting. Manuka is focusing on a mineral useful resource replace for Wonawinta in Might 2024 and manufacturing by Q1 or Q2 2025.
Taranaki VTM Challenge
The Taranaki VTM undertaking is positioned inside New Zealand’s unique financial zone, roughly 22 to 36 kilometres offshore, exterior the 12 nautical mile boundary from the shoreline. The undertaking boasts a JORC useful resource of three.2 billion tons at 10.17 p.c iron oxide, 1.03 p.c titanium dioxide and 0.05 p.c vanadium oxide. It holds a mining license permitting preliminary extraction of fifty million tons yearly, leading to 5 million tons of VTM focus per yr for 20 years (focus grade of 56 to 57 p.c iron, 8.5 p.c titanium dioxide and 0.5 p.c vanadium pentoxide). At this extraction fee, the JORC useful resource offers roughly 60 years of potential mining stock.
The undertaking is anticipated to sit down within the lowest quartile of the iron ore manufacturing price curve. The subsequent step for Manuka is to finish a bankable feasibility research on the undertaking.
Administration Staff
Dennis Karp – Govt Chairman
Dennis Karp is a former commodities dealer with almost 4 a long time of company expertise. He began his profession in 1983 and labored in HSBC till 1997 earlier than shifting to Tennant, one among Australia’s largest bodily commodities buying and selling firms with operations in Asia and Europe. He was a principal shareholder of Tennant Metals till 2010 and a managing director till December 2014. He based ResCap in December 2014. Since then, he has participated in various useful resource tasks and funding alternatives throughout base metals and bulk commodities. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the College of Cape City.
Alan Eggers – Govt Director
Alan Eggers has over 40 years of expertise within the mining sector. He’s a geologist and was the founding father of Summit Sources, which turned an ASX prime 200 firm and was acquired by Paladin Power in 2007 for AU$1.2 billion. All through his profession, he has held director positions at quite a few firms. He holds a Bachelor of Science, Honours, and Grasp of Science levels from Victoria College of Wellington. He’s acknowledged as a fellow of the Society of Financial Geologists and holds memberships in AusIMM and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.
Anthony McPaul – Non-executive Director
Anthony McPaul possesses over 40 years of experience in mining and mineral processing. He has overseen a various array of operational tasks, spanning from base to valuable metals, in each floor and underground mining operations. He has immediately managed all aspects of manufacturing and scheduling. He served in senior management roles at varied firms, together with CRA, Denehurst, MIM and, extra lately, Newcrest. McPaul is at present the chairman of the NSW Minerals Council Board and Govt Committee, and he’s additionally a member of the newly established Mineral Trade Advisory Council.
John Seton – Non-executive Director
John Seton is a lawyer with intensive expertise within the mineral sources sector. He has served as director in a number of ASX and NZX listed firms. He holds a Bachelor of Legal guidelines from Victoria College, Wellington, and a Grasp of Legislation (Honours) from the College of Auckland and is a chartered fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Administrators.
Haydn Lynch – Chief Working Officer
Haydn Lynch has over 25 years of expertise in M&A, capital markets and personal fairness. He has been concerned in executing a number of home and cross-border transactions in varied sectors together with metals and mining, and industrials. He has held management roles in world funding banks, together with Bankers Belief Australia, Investec Financial institution, RBC Capital Markets and Southern Cross Equities. He has undergraduate levels in mechanical engineering and economics from the College of Queensland and a Grasp in Commerce from the College of New South Wales.
Rod Griffith – Mining and Technical Marketing consultant
Rod Griffith has over 30 years of expertise within the mining trade, each in Australia and internationally, working in senior administration roles, together with as chief working officer and normal supervisor. He has important Central Western NSW expertise with KBL Mining, Silver Metropolis Minerals, Girilambone Copper and Cobalt Blue, throughout quite a lot of commodity teams and mining types. He earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and Surveying from the College of Newcastle, together with a postgraduate diploma in mining engineering from the College of Ballarat.
Phil Bentley – Chief Geologist
Phil Bentley has over 40 years of expertise within the mining trade throughout New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia, holding senior geological roles in addition to senior administration and director positions. He has labored as a Chief Geologist at Randgold Sources and Randgold & Exploration, International Head of Exploration at Trafigura Mining Providers, and Principal Geologist Africa at CSA International South Africa. He’s a Certified individual underneath NI 43-101 (Canadia) and JORC (Australia) and is a Fellow of the South African Geological Society. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Geology at Victoria College of Wellington. He additionally has a Masters of Science in Financial Geology at Victoria College of Wellington and a Grasp’s of Science in Mineral Exploration from Rhodes College, Grahamstown South Africa.
