Australia’s Largest Undeveloped Gold Projects
As gold hit an all-time high of A$7374/oz, these multimillion-ounce projects are looking more compelling by the day
While Australia is a mature gold mining jurisdiction, there are still a handful of large projects yet to be developed with economics that look better than ever due to a gold price of more than A$7350 an ounce.
Hemi
Discovered by De Grey Mining in 2020, Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) took ownership of the Hemi deposit in Western Australia’s Pilbara region via the A$6 billion scrip takeover of De Grey last year.
Hemi has a resource of 309.5 million tonnes at 1.4 grams per tonne gold for just under 13.6 million ounces of gold.
A definitive feasibility study completed by De Grey in 2023 outlined a A$1.3 billion open pit operation to produce an average 553,000 ounces of gold per annum over the first five years and 530,000ozpa over the first 10 years at all-in sustaining costs of A$1200-1300/oz.
The DFS returned a post-tax net present value (5% discount rate) of A$2.9 billion and internal rate of return of 36%, based on a gold price of just A$2700/oz.
In the months before the takeover offer, De Grey also completed a study into a potential underground operation at Hemi, which indicated the potential for production to increase to 700,000ozpa.
The main hurdle for Northern Star is federal approvals, which it was previously hoping to receive by early 2026.
“There’s no real way to fast-track those processes with the regulators,” Northern Star managing director Stuart Tonkin said during a conference call last week.
In the meantime, Northern Star is refreshing the study numbers and development plan.
Last week, the company lifted its 2026 financial year capital spend for Hemi from A$140-150 million to A$165-175 million to reflect a more detailed review of engineering and design works.
Hemi will also be included in Northern Star’s annual resources and reserves statement for the first time in May.
“We’ve probably got a stricter, more scrutinised view of what’s in and what’s out,” Tonkin said.
Mt Todd
Vista Gold Corp (NYSE/TSX: VGZ) announced the results of a new look feasibility study for the Mt Todd gold project in the Northern Territory in July.
The project has a resource of 10.55Moz of gold at a grade of around 0.8g/t gold.
The 15,000t per day operation is expected to produce 153,000ozpa at AISC of US$1449/oz during years 1-15 and 146,000ozpa at US$1499/oz over the 30-year mine life.
Capital costs were forecast at US$425 million.
Vista previously studied a 50,000tpd operation costing US$1.13 billion, which would produce 395,000ozpa of gold at AISC of US$1034/oz.
The latest study returned a post-tax NPV5 of US$1.1 billion, IRR of 27.8% and payback period of 2.7 years at a gold price of US$2500/oz.
Increasing the gold price assumption to US$3300/oz increases the NPV to US$2.2 billion, the IRR to 44.7% and reduces the payback period to 1.7 years.
The average head grade at Mt Todd is expected to be 1.04g/t gold over the first 15 years of operations and 0.97g/t gold over the life of mine, while recoveries are forecast to average 88.5%.
This year, Vista will focus on obtaining permit modifications, building its Australian team and optimising the project.
The plan is to initiate detailed engineering and design by early 2027, which will pave the way for a 27-month design, construction, and commissioning process.
“Our opportunity to realise an uplift in value by advancing development of Mt Todd has never been greater,” Vista president and CEO Fred Earnest said this month.
“As we advance toward the start of detailed engineering, we will continue to give appropriate consideration to JV opportunities and other alternatives with the potential to deliver shareholder value.”
Boda-Kaiser
Discovered by Alkane Resources (ASX/TSX: ALK) in 2019, the Boda and Kaiser deposits are part of the Northern Molong porphyry project in New South Wales.
The two deposits have indicated and inferred resources of 796Mt at 0.33g/t gold and 0.18% copper, or 0.58g/t gold equivalent for 8.28Moz of gold and 1.46Mt of copper, or 14.7Moz of AuEq.
A July 2024 scoping study into a bulk tonnage open pit and underground operation evaluated 5Mtpa, 10Mtpa and 20Mtpa processing options with 20Mtpa the preferred option due to economies of scale.
Capital costs were forecast at A$1.78 billion for a 17-year operation to produce 159,000ozpa of gold and 35,000tpa of copper at AISC of A$500/oz, including copper by-product credits.
Given that a high throughput is beneficial to the project economics, future studies will evaluate the potential for sub-level caving or a similar bulk tonnage underground method.
Based on a gold price of A$4600/oz, the project has a pre-tax IRR of 36% and is expected to generate undiscounted free cashflow of A$8.2 billion.
Alkane is initiating environmental studies as part of the approvals process.
Managing director Nic Earner told the Mining Forum Americas last year that the company was aiming to get the approvals process completed within four years.
“Alkane as a company has had three major projects approved through exactly the same permitting process in the last 12 years, so we’re quite confident in our ability to do that,” he said.
“Then we would expect that we would be looking for joint venture partners to develop it, although we may of course have the capacity ourselves.”
The company expects to start building the project in 2031-32, with commissioning in 2033.
Havieron
Greatland Resources (ASX/LSE: GGP) discovered the Havieron gold-copper project in WA in 2018 before bringing in Newcrest Mining as a partner in 2019.
Newcrest was acquired by Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM) and it sold Havieron, and the nearby Telfer mine, to Greatland for US$475 million in late 2024.
Havieron has a resource of 131Mt at 1.7g/t gold and 0.21% copper for 7Moz of gold and 275,000t of copper and a reserve of 38.5Mt at 2.63g/t gold and 0.33% copper for 3.3Moz of gold and 128,000t of copper, which the company says is the largest Australian underground gold reserve outside Newmont’s Cadia and Tanami operations.
Havieron is expected to produce 266,000ozpa of gold and 9600tpa of copper at AISC of A$1610/oz over 17 years, with ore to be processed through the Telfer plant, 45km away.
Capital costs were forecast at A$1.065 billion, which is expected to be funded from cash of A$948 million at December 31, ongoing cashflow from Telfer and a A$500 million from a syndicate of banks.
The project has a base case post-tax NPV5 of A$2.9 billion and IRR of 22.5% at a gold price of A$4500/oz, increasing to a A$5.4 billion NPV and 31.5% IRR at A$6250/oz.
Havieron is expected to generate undiscounted post-tax free cashflow of A$5.4 billion at A$4500/oz, or A$550 million annually.
The base case assumes standalone processing of Havieron ore, but the potential remains for improved economics if the Telfer mine life is extended.
Greatland is conducting a record 240,000m of drilling at Telfer in FY26.
First gold from Havieron is expected around 2.5 years after a final investment decision, which is expected to be made after the granting of environmental approvals this year.
Other advanced projects
Capricorn Metals’ (ASX: CMM) 4.7Moz Mt Gibson gold project in WA is progressing through the approvals process. The most recent published capital cost for the project, published in late 2024, was A$446 million for a 5Mtpa operation to produce 150,000ozpa at AISC of A$1650-1750/oz. At a A$3300/oz gold price, the project has a pre-tax payback period of 2.3 years and a post-capex, pre-tax NPV5 of A$1.94 billion.
Minerals 260’s (ASX: MI6) acquired the Bullabulling project last year for A$166.5 million and has already more than doubled the resource to 4.5Moz of gold. A prefeasibility study is already underway, targeted for completion later this year. The company is aiming to make an FID in 2027 and is targeting the first half of 2028 for first production.
Antipa Minerals’ (ASX: AZY) Minyari gold project in WA has a resource of 2.7Moz of gold, 90,000t of copper, 700,000oz of silver, and 13,000t of cobalt, or 3.3Moz AuEq, with a further update due next month as part of the PFS. An FID is being targeted for mid-2028.
Ausgold (ASX: AUC) is targeting an FID on the A$354 million, 2.44Moz Katanning gold project in WA by mid-2026 and first production by the end of next year. Gold production is expected to average 143,000ozpa at AISC of A$2157/oz in the first four years. At a gold price of A$4300, the project has a post-tax NPV5 of A$1.028 billion and an IRR of 52.4%, increasing to A$2.3 billion and 92%, respectively, at A$6400/oz.
Regis Resources’ (ASX: RRL) 2.26Moz McPhillamys project in NSW is currently stalled after the federal environmental minister overturned the project’s approval in 2024. Regis has initiated legal proceedings and a decision in the Federal Court is pending. Regis is concurrently working on an alternative tailings solution.
Saturn Metals (ASX: STN) recently released a PFS into its 2.24Moz Apollo Hill heap leach development in WA, outlining a 106,000oz operation over 14 years at AISC of A$2464/oz. Using a gold price of A$4300/oz, the project has a pre-tax NPV8 of A$973 million and an IRR of 51%. The company is targeting completion of a DFS by the end of this year.
The smallest of the projects, Rox Resources’ (ASX: RXL) 2.17Moz Younami in WA, will likely be the first into production in mid-2027. The A$383 million project is expected to produce an average 117,000ozpa over seven years at AISC of A$1978/oz, peaking at 176,000oz. Youanmi has a post-tax NPV8 of A$965 million, IRR of 55% and payback of 1.9 years at A$5200/oz, improving to an NPV8 of A$1.31 billion, IRR of 68% and 1.9-year payback at A$6100/oz. The company has raised A$200 million in equity but is working on debt funding ahead of an FID.