Beacon Minerals sells off Timor-Leste concessions to focus on increasing production at Goldfields operations

Beacon Minerals has sold off its Timor-Leste concessions as it focuses on developing its Goldfields operations and increasing production of the Jaurdi processing plant north-west of Coolgardie. The Graham McGarry-led gold miner was granted six exploration licences last year containing multiple polymetallic copper prospects across 289sqkm in the South-East Asian island nation’s inaugural minerals tender. However, the company told the Australian Securities Exchange on Wednesday it had sold the concessions to Darwin-based critical minerals company Tivan. Beacon said it would receive $250,000 in cash and another $250,000 worth of shares in Tivan. The company said it had completed exploration activities on the Timor-Leste tenements and had been focusing on its Australian projects and increasing production at the Jaurdi mill. Beacon produced 6884 ounces of gold at Jaurdi at an all-in-sustaining cost of $4092/oz and price of $5210/oz for sales revenue of $28.9 million in the latest quarter. The company announced in August it would acquire five tenements associated with the historic Wealth of Nations mine 10km north-west of Jaurdi for $1.4 million, with an eye to producing a maiden mineral resource estimate early next year. In its September quarter report, Beacon said it had appointed a construction manager for the Jaurdi mill expansion, revised the capital budget of $11.5m, approved and ordered long-lead items, and started civil works. The company said the pay back of capital expenditure was less than three years, reflecting improved recoveries and greater throughput. In the report, Beacon also said it had received primary approvals for the Iguana stage one project at Lady Ida to the north-west of Wealth of Nations, with a 298-hole, 16,506-metre reverse circulation grade control drill program undertaken to further increase the geological confidence in the Iguana stage one pit. The company said the results of this drilling program had been “spectacular” and continue to prove up the Iguana deposit as a cornerstone asset. Mr McGarry said the appointment of a mill construction manager, the start of civil works, and the mobilisation of three drill rigs at Iguana marked a heightened level of activity for the company. “Exploration momentum continues to build, with two reverse circulation rigs and one diamond rig advancing our understanding of the highly prospective Iguana prospect and supporting our strategy to grow the resource base,” he said. Mr McGarry said the securing of approvals represented a milestone for the Lady Ida project. “Confidence and excitement around Iguana continue to grow as we prepare for ground-disturbing activities in early November 2025 and target first gold production early next year,” he said. Beacon had also approved a five-year resource development plan for Iguana, with the primary focus on converting inferred mineral resource to indicated resources. The company said the plan involved 200,000m of reverse circulation drilling and 10,000m of diamond drilling. Tivan on Wednesday sad the acquisition of Beacon’s Timor-Leste concessions complemented its existing Turiscai project in Timor-Leste, where it was exploring for copper and gold mineralisation. Tivan executive chairman Grant Wilson said working in close collaboration with the Timor-Leste Government and in partnership with the local communities, it now had a singular opportunity to upscale the exploration for critical minerals and to lay the foundations for large-scale sustainable development in the decades ahead. Beacon’s withdrawal does not end the Goldfields presence in Timor-Leste’s fledging mining scene, with Chris Daws-led Estrella Resources continuing to push ahead with its search for manganese and limestone on the small island nation in the Indonesian archipelago to the north of Australia.