Australia's Trident Gold Mine Reserves Increase to 524,000 Ounces, Underground Mine Construction Advances

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 14, Catalyst Metals announced the latest reserves for the Trident underground gold mine in Western Australia. Probable ore reserves increased to 3.9 million tonnes at an average gold grade of 4.2 g/t, containing approximately 524,000 ounces of gold, an increase of 32% from the previous estimate. The updated reserves support an expected mine life of approximately 10 years for the Trident underground mine, with steady-state annual gold production estimated at 60,000 to 80,000 ounces.

Trident is located within Catalyst's Plutonic Gold Belt, approximately 30 kilometers from the existing Plutonic processing plant. The deposit's updated underground mineral resources as of June 2026 stand at 6.2 million tonnes at an average gold grade of 5.4 g/t, containing approximately 1.1 million ounces of gold, including approximately 633,000 ounces in the indicated category and approximately 448,000 ounces in the inferred category. This reserve upgrade was completed on the basis of expanded mineral resources, further increasing the mineable tonnage that can be incorporated into the mine plan.

Development of the Trident underground mine is already underway, with approximately 250 meters of decline development completed. First underground ore is expected to be produced in 2027. Catalyst previously completed mining at the Trident small open pit in May 2026, with open pit ore stockpiled and planned to be progressively transported to the Plutonic processing plant for treatment over the remainder of 2026. Once the underground mine is in production, Trident will become the second high-grade base load ore source feeding the central processing plant, following the Plutonic main mine.

The company has completed grade control drilling for the first approximately 15 months of production areas following underground mine commissioning, further optimizing the orebody model and grade control through increased drill hole density. Trident currently retains approximately 448,000 ounces of inferred resources, and the company plans to continue infill drilling to drive conversion of additional inferred resources into indicated resources and reserves, and to extend the underground mine's service life.

Trident is the fourth mine development project advanced by Catalyst in the Plutonic Gold Belt, following Plutonic East, the Trident open pit, and K2. The company is advancing toward a target of approximately 2 million ounces of reserves across the entire Plutonic Gold Belt, aiming to support an increase in regional annual gold production from approximately 100,000 ounces to approximately 200,000 ounces. The Trident underground mine's steady-state annual production of 60,000 to 80,000 ounces will be an important component of this expansion plan.