Astral spends AUD 9.05 million to gain control of mining rights required for Mandilla gold mine development

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 28, Astral Resources announced that it had reached a mining rights transaction with WIN Metals totaling AUD 9.05 million, under which it will acquire control of a batch of mining leases and mining rights required for the development of the Mandilla gold mine in Western Australia. After the transaction is completed, Astral will obtain mineral rights other than lithium within mining leases M15/96, M15/97, M15/653, M15/100 and M15/1271 and license L15/254, as well as the nickel mining right for M15/633 and mining rights other than lithium in part of M15/99.

Under the agreement, Astral will pay WIN Metals AUD 8.05 million plus related taxes and fees at closing, and will pay another AUD 1 million after the transfer registration of mining lease M15/96 is formally completed. The transaction is scheduled to close on October 5. WIN Metals will retain the mining rights to the McEwen and McEwen Hangingwall nickel resources within part of M15/653, while acquiring gold rights within M15/99, M15/101 and M15/102.

These mining rights directly cover the project land and mining rights boundaries required for Mandilla's future development. Astral stated that after obtaining the relevant titles, the company will be able to advance permitting, approvals and project financing in its own name, reducing the restrictions previously imposed on the development path by overlapping mining rights and third-party interests. Mandilla currently hosts approximately 1.74 million ounces of gold mineral resources, with Theia as the core deposit, and recent deep drilling has continued to discover new gold mineralization below the existing resource model.

The Mandilla project is located approximately 70 kilometers south of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and includes deposits such as Theia, Iris, Eos and Hestia. In August this year, Astral signed a land use agreement with the Marlinyu Ghoorlie native title claimant group, ensuring that all mining rights currently included in Mandilla's definitive feasibility study are covered by land use agreements; with the acquisition of underlying mining rights control this time, the project's land and mining rights conditions are further consolidated within Astral's system.

Astral is currently advancing the definitive feasibility study for Mandilla, with the latest plan to complete it in the first quarter of 2027. The company is also continuing deep drilling at Theia and infill drilling within the open-pit footprint, with the relevant results planned to be incorporated into the next mineral resource update. The Theia drilling results announced in mid-September include a mineralized interval of 22 meters with an average gold grade of 2.73 g/t, located below the existing resource pit shell.