Brightstar goes again at Second Fortune

Brightstar Resources has begun a second round of ore processing from its Second Fortune underground mine at its Laverton Hub, delivering 55,000t of ore at more than 2g/t gold to Genesis’ Laverton mill in WA.

The ore parcel includes some feedstock from existing lower-grade stockpiles from the company’s Laverton Hub and is processed under an ore purchase agreement (OPA) with ASX-listed Genesis Minerals.

Under the OPA, Brightstar will deliver, sell, and process up to 500,000 tonnes of ore through the Laverton Mill from its Laverton Hub throughout this year and into next year’s first quarter.

Earlier this month, the company executed a A$17.8M revolving stockpile finance facility with specialist mining lender Ocean Partners Australia to bolster its working capital and provide flexibility for production growth at its Laverton gold mining hub.

The facility supports Brightstar’s present strategy of simultaneously building its current gold production through the OPA, delivering meaningful production growth through development of its Menzies and Laverton gold projects and its aim to rapidly advance its Sandstone gold project.

This synchronised regional development profile underpins the company’s ambitious target of becoming a consistent 200,000 ounce per year gold producer within the next five years.

Additionally, the financial reinforcement provides sufficient ongoing working capital for new developments, one of which is the imminent crank-up of the Fish underground mine production, pencilled-in for the June quarter.

Notably, the financing will allow Brightstar to remain unhedged and able to retain full exposure to any gold price upside.

With the imminent end of the latest production run, Brightstar expects to see a metallurgical gold reconciliation within the next few weeks.

This considers the estimated or modelled grade and dry tonnage of the feedstock, the calculated gold left in the circuit and the refined gold out-turn from the ore parcel.

These parameters include feed head-grade and gold recovery and can help with identifying areas of unexpected non-performance, including ore modelling problems, sudden ore-dilution during mining, bad carbon, poor electro-winning and reagent control, amongst others.

With ongoing gold production and cash flow, a second high-grade gold mine coming into first ore shortly, a DFS nearing completion and multiple drilling rigs in the field ramping up exploration, it’s an exciting time for Brightstar as we advance our portfolio of projects across the WA goldfields.

Brightstar says development is ongoing at the Fish underground which is expected to contribute to future processing campaigns from June.

The Fish mine portal was only fired in early April and since then, the decline and its related capital development, such as ventilation, have advanced by 220m, while an underground drill platform is to be set up in the coming weeks to support extensional and infill drilling from underground to test at depth within and below the Fish orebody.

The company says its construction of the initial 48-room accommodation camp and ancillary infrastructure, including messing facilities, offices and utilities, is due for completion this month.

This will accompany other tasks, including installation of a power station, a fuel bay, a temporary office, explosives magazine and site earth works.

Notably, management thinks some of the key capital works relating to site establishment at Fish will ultimately assist development of the company’s Lord Byron open pit operation, 7km southwest of Fish.

Lord Byron is currently subject to Brightstar’s Laverton-Menzies definitive feasibility study which is scheduled to be completed mid-year.

The company’s definitive feasibility study on its greater Laverton-Menzies development strategy is well advanced, with delivery on track for mid-year. That study is expected to better define Brightstar’s path to becoming a significant, multi-mine ASX-listed gold producer.

Brightstar has been one of the most active gold juniors on the ASX in recent times with multiple project and corporate acquisitions and now a solid toll treating strategy – all of which may culminate in its broader ambition to become a 200,000 ounce a year listed producer. And if its current pace is anything to go by, that may well occur sooner rather than later.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au