Bellevue Gold shares surge on positive production update and minimal exposure to soaring diesel prices

A rare stretch of production consistency at Bellevue Gold’s eponymous mine and its minimal exposure to diesel has fuelled a share price surge. Bellevue told investors on Wednesday it had boosted cash and gold on hand during the March quarter from about $16 million to $181m after generating record underlying free cash flow of $158m. This underlying figure excludes “voluntary future hedge book pre-deliveries” as the company races to close out an onerous arrangement that has limited its ability to capitalise on record gold prices. Its remaining hedge book was whittled down by 32,500 ounces to 91,700koz, with Bellevue producing 40,745oz in the quarter at an increased average head grade of 4.7g/t of gold. Operational issues plagued the Bellevue mine near Leinster for much of 2024 and 2025, with lower-than-expected grades being one of the key issues. Shares in Bellevue were up 16.6 per cent to $1.82 at 10.40am, outpacing the gains from its mining peers who were buoyed by a ceasefire in the Middle East. Bellevue’s pioneering move to run its mine off green energy has also boosted its attractiveness to investors amid the global oil and gas crunch. “Bellevue’s power station continues to operate with industry-leading renewable energy rates of approximately 90 per cent during March 2026,” the company stated. “Bellevue’s direct exposure to diesel costs continues to be one of the lowest in the sector. “Diesel purchases represented approximately 1.3 per cent of total project costs during the financial year to 28 February 2026. Bellevue is not currently impacted by any diesel supply issues.” It comes as Bellevue’s WA gold mining rivals Capricorn Metals, Ramelius Resources and Regis Resources in recent days indicated that the prospect of diesel shortages was a material risk to their businesses.