Ramelius Resources secures permit for Cue gold project

Australian gold miner Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS) has secured a key permit from the Western Australian government for the company’s Cue gold project, which paves the way for early works to start in June.

“Our key operating mines continue to perform well, tracking at the higher end of guidance and in accordance with our recently released Mt. Magnet 10-year plan,” Ramelius managing director Mark Zeptner, said in a release.

The gold asset, situated in the Murchison region of Western Australia, contains a combined mineral resource of 12 million tonnes, with a gold grade of 2.4 grams per tonne, equating to 910,000 ounces. The project also boasts a reserve of 2.7 million tonnes at 2.9 grams gold for 250,000 ounces.

Ramelius said that Cue’s open-pit mining fleet will include a 200-tonne excavator, two 120-tonne excavators, up to 10 90-tonne payload trucks, two dozers, one grader, two water carts and up to three production drill rigs.

Shares in Ramelius Resources gained A1¢ on Tuesday in Sydney to close at A$1.96, valuing the company at A$2.2 billion. They’ve traded in a 52-week range of $1.18 to A$2.13. 

Mt. Magnet hub

The project will send ore to the Mt. Magnet hub in parallel with the Penny high grade ore, Zeptner said. “This high margin combination will deliver significant returns with our cash balance already exceeding A$500 million ($455.1 million).”

Following the recent completion of underground drilling at Cue, the company is gearing up to work on resource modelling and mine evaluation. The results are expected to be included in the pre-feasibility study by September, with mining expected to start in early fiscal year 2025.

Earlier this year, Ramelius held talks with fellow miner Karora Resources regarding a potential business combination, but there was no deal.

The company recently approached Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX), which ended up acquiring Karora. Ramelius reacted by filing an application with the Takeovers Panel regarding the validity of the move, in light of a confidential agreement inked with Westgold in November last year.