Australia's Ramelius to Expand Mt Magnet, Targeting 610,000 oz in FY2030

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 21, Australia's Ramelius Resources announced its updated five-year growth plan, with the expansion of the Mt Magnet processing plant in Western Australia as the core construction project. Once the expansion is completed, the Mt Magnet plant is planned to have two comminution circuits, with an initial annual processing capacity of approximately 4.3 million tonnes and the provision to further increase it to 5 million tonnes per year. The company expects the expansion to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2027, with commercial production beginning in the first quarter of 2028.

The project adds a second production circuit with an annual processing capacity of 3 million tonnes, with Primero responsible for EPC implementation. The new circuit will be equipped with a crushing system, coarse ore stockpile, grinding system, leach tanks and related gold processing facilities, and will utilize some existing equipment from the Dalgaranga plant while adding a jaw crusher, ball mill and leach/CIL equipment. The existing approximately 2 million tonnes per year processing system at Mt Magnet will also be modified, with one circuit planned to be adjusted to approximately 1.3 million tonnes per year and the grind size reduced to accommodate the processing of high-grade Dalgaranga ore.

Ramelius currently estimates the total investment for the Mt Magnet plant expansion at approximately A$280 million, up from A$223 million announced in 2025. The increased cost mainly stems from inflation, a higher proportion of fixed-price contract coverage and adjustments to supporting infrastructure. The expansion also includes upgrades to roads, power and water supply facilities, as well as expanding the Mt Magnet camp accommodation capacity from 244 to 500 people.

Mt Magnet will serve as the centralized processing hub for Ramelius' Western Australian gold assets, receiving ore from the Mt Magnet, Cue, Penny and Dalgaranga mining areas. The Never Never underground deposit under Dalgaranga has 7 million tonnes of ore reserves at an average gold grade of 7.3 g/t, containing approximately 1.6 million ounces of gold; the project mine plan involves 9.2 million tonnes of ore, with expected gold production of approximately 1.8 million ounces. Dalgaranga ore will be transported by road to Mt Magnet for centralized processing.

The updated group production plan estimates that Ramelius' gold production in FY2030 will reach 560,000 to 610,000 ounces, higher than the level in the 2025 five-year plan, with all-in sustaining costs in FY2030 estimated at A$2,100 to A$2,400 per ounce. The FY2027 production guidance is 205,000 to 225,000 ounces. The Mt Magnet expansion and the Rebecca-Roe project will together constitute the sources of the group's subsequent production growth.

Mt Magnet's existing hybrid energy system includes natural gas, solar power and battery storage, with planned installed capacity of approximately 32 MW in 2025. Ramelius previously determined to increase its energy supply capacity to 46 MW in 2026 through the addition of wind power facilities, and to continue increasing power capacity before the expanded plant is commissioned to meet the load of the new grinding, leaching and auxiliary facilities.