Page 26 - pd281-Apr20-mag-web_Neat

AUstRALIAn GoLD

McPhillamys gets closer

round at McPhillamys could be bro- money on the promise of replicating Al-
Gken as early as next year, with its de- kane’s success, while the likes of Sky
velopment a potential boon for both Re- Metals Ltd at Cullarin (93m @ 4.2 g/t
gis Resources Ltd and New South Wales. gold from 56m), near Goulburn, has also
As unemployment rises across Austral- sparked interest in the State.
ia as a result of mass industry shutdowns Beyer is of course aware of what’s oc-
stemming from the coronavirus spread, curring in the State, however, he is only
new projects in the mining sector will focused on one thing right now.
help boost job prospects and McPhilla- “There seems to be a fair interest in
mys is almost at the starting gate. this part of the world, but our primary fo-
Various NSW government depart- cus is getting McPhillamys finalised, ap-
ments and key stakeholders are currently proved and under way. It is easy to be
mulling over the development application distracted from the main game, but we
(DA) submitted by Regis for McPhilla- don’t want to be chasing bright shiny ob-
mys. jects,” Beyer said.
At the time of print, there were no red Regis has been one of Australia’s most
flags in government responses to Regis’ Jim Beyer successful mid-tier gold producers for a
DA, with the company taking a measured sustained period of time and with cash
approach to its feedback. nies spending money, employing people and bullion totalling $169 million and no
Regis will provide responses in late and building things. We know there is debt, it is positioned for M&A.
June, at which point the Department of good bureaucratic and political support Beyer was in North America earlier this
Planning will assess, make recommen- for McPhillamys.” year scoping out the region’s gold envi-
dations and then refer to the Independ- There are few development projects as ronment and reported that there were
ent Planning Commission (IPC). advanced as McPhillamys in NSW, which several companies struggling to execute
The IPC will then have 12 weeks to run is experiencing an exploration boom. what were once thought to be good ide-
its process, which will include a public Since Alkane Resources Ltd’s Boda as.
hearing, to make a call on support or oth- discovery, a rash of juniors have raised However, Beyer remains wary of strik-
erwise for McPhillamys. ing any deals given the overall per-
In the meantime, Regis remains formance of gold M&A in the past
tightly connected to the commu- 10 years.
nity through consultations, as it pre- “We are not falling over ourselves
pares to feed DA outcomes straight to do anything, but you have to be
into a DFS. looking around for opportunities as
DFS studies will update the PFS part of your growth,” Beyer said.
which assumes 60mt milled @ 1.05 “In a rising gold price environment
g/t gold over LOM production of there are opportunities for consoli-
1.73 moz at an average 192,000oz dation, with the view of undertaking
for 10 years. M&A to improve your portfolio, but
McPhillamys is currently host you have just got to be careful.
to reserves/resources of 2 moz “You don’t have to go back too
and 2.3 moz respectively, while far to see that a lot of consolidation
32km south-west, Discovery Ridge and M&A that was undertaken was
(10.4mt @ 1.2 g/t for 391,000oz) is closely followed by some signifi-
shaping as a potential open pit sat- cant impairments and write-downs
ellite project. where people overpaid for acquisi-
Regis’ McPhillamys is well-known tions. There is a bit more caution
at political and bureaucratic level in from investors who have long mem-
NSW and Jim Beyer is focussed on ories. You have to be careful of run-
getting the project approved and ning off and doing things that look
demonstrating the company’s good good in the short-term because if
corporate citizenship. the gold price turns then some of
“We want to get people comforta- those investments look ordinary.”
ble that we are good operators and Instead of landing a big fish in the
then options may start to open up, market, Regis is backing its experi-
but right now our focus is on getting ence and knowledge in the Duketon
the basic project approved,” the Re- greenstone belt where its three op-
gis managing director told Paydirt. erations – Garden Well, Rosemont
“Even more so now, it is going and Moolart Well – are forecast to
to be hard to inject money into the produce 340,000-370,000oz gold
economy and how do you do that? Currently mill-constrained at Duketon, Regis is mining higher @ $1,125-1,195/oz in FY2020.
You get projects approved, compa- grade underground ounces to boost annual gold production The three staples have been inte-

Page 26 aPRIL 2020 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT