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COVER

The 1.9 mtpa Checkers mill, which services the Mt Magnet
operations in WA’s Murchison district

Mt Magnet now settled and being supported by critical feed Zeptner highlighted the importance of looking beyond the
trucked from the Vivien and Kathleen Valley mines, Ramelius headlines which are there for all to see when acquiring an asset
returned a profit for the first time in years and Zeptner could from a motivated seller.
now start thinking about growth rather than survival. “The reality is if you’re going to go and buy someone else’s
While Mt Magnet was not yet producing 100,000 ozpa, Zeptner project, if it has a decent production rate – let’s say 100,000
and the rest of the Ramelius board recognised the need to ozpa – and it’s priced at a relatively competitive cost and it’s got
upsize the company’s portfolio to house a greater output closer a long mine life, then generally they’re not going to be selling
to 300,000 ozpa if it wanted to “enjoy the same valuations as those,” Zeptner says.
our bigger peers”. “In most cases it will be because something doesn’t fit their
“That was the strategy then and effectively still is the strategy portfolio anymore, generally that will be mine life, so you’ve got
today,” Zeptner says. to make your own luck there. And in some instances the cost
Evolution was in the midst of its own acquisition spree and may be high, so you’ve got to do what you can to trim costs and
picked up the likes of Cowal, Mungari and an economic interest reduce that back down to an acceptable level.
in Ernest Henry. That meant operations such as Pajingo and “With a number of our acquisitions, one of those boxes wasn’t
Edna May were no longer core to its burgeoning Tier 1 asset ticked for the previous owner and that enabled us to acquire
class. those assets. It’s then been up to us to turn that around either
Edna May ticked all the boxes for Ramelius; consistent by extending life or reducing costs, or both. And that was
production, immediate opportunities to increase the mine life definitely the case with Edna May.”
and located in WA. At the time, some sections of the market Under Zeptner’s leadership, Ramelius has recorded six
were critical of the purchase and suggested the company had
taken on a troubled asset which one of Australia’s top gold
“ To be able to kick up to record
miners was desperately seeking to dispose of.

levels is very satisfying for
the team, especially now that we’re

delivering some serious cash flow to
the bank balance as well.”
Claimed underground production at Edna May totalled
51,792t @ 4.96 g/t gold for 8,256oz for the June quarter

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