Black Cat Syndicate raising $65 million to accelerate Kal East gold mine development to feed Lakewood mill

Black Cat Syndicate is raising $65 million to accelerate mine development at its Kal East gold operations that will feed into its newly acquired Lakewood mill south-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Black Cat told the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday there had been strong support for the two-tranche placement of 85.5 million ordinary shares priced at 76¢ a share. The company said Kal East mining production would be increased and optimised from the May 2024 study levels of 0.8 million tonnes per annum to 1.2Mtpa throughput rates, with the potential for future expansion beyond 1.2Mtpa after tying in the already installed secondary mill at Lakewood. Black Cat in February agreed to buy the mill just south-east of Northern Star Resources’ Super Pit for $85m from Westgold Resources. The company said ore would first be processed from the Myhree and Boundary open pits next month, followed by the Fingals open pit in the December quarter this year, from Majestic underground in the March 2026 quarter, and the from Myhree underground in the June quarter of next year. Kal East has a total mineral resource of 18.8 million tonnes at 2.1 grams per tonne for 1,294,000 ounces of gold, including a preliminary reserve of 3.7Mt at 2.0 g/t for 243,000oz. Mineral Mining Services has been mining the Myhree and Boundary open pits for Black Cat since last August but the ore is being processed at Norton Gold Fields’ Paddington mill north of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Black Cat at the time said it aimed to produce 52,000oz of gold at 2.2g/t across 18 months to generate $30m in revenue. On Friday, the company said the capital raising would also allow it to accelerate metallurgical and engineering studies of potential processing pathways for the high-grade Mt Clement antimony project near the flagship Paulsens gold mine in the Pilbara, once drilling was under way in the middle of the year. It said remaining funds would be used for working capital and de-risking the company’s balance sheet, providing substantial flexibility going forward, and allowing it to remain unhedged and debt-free. Black Cat’s managing director Gareth Solly said the company had an aspirational target of producing 200,000oz per annum. “This journey starts with reaching a sustainable 100,000oz per annum production rate in 2025,” he said. “Investors strongly endorsed this approach by way of the placement. “The placement also provides us with a strong balance sheet to deliver on our strategy. “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank our existing shareholders for their ongoing support, and welcome new institutional and sophisticated investors to the register.”