Auric Mining has triggered the first blast at its Munda gold mine near Widgiemooltha in Western Australia’s Goldfields region, marking a significant step as the company transitions from development to production amid a buoyant gold market.
The initial blast was fired earlier this week at Auric’s starter pit, just weeks after excavation began, paving the way for full-scale mining operations. Over the past month, Auric has moved approximately 70,000 bank cubic metres (BCM) of material from a pit designed to contain 380,000 BCM.
Much of this early material was free-digging and required no blasting, providing Auric with an early cost advantage before operations shift to harder rock.
Auric is operating with a dry-hire fleet on site, including a 125-tonne excavator and four 40-tonne ‘Moxi’ dump trucks, supported by ancillary equipment. Kalgoorlie-based Total Drilling Services manages grade control, blast-hole drilling, and blast supervision, leveraging experienced local crews to ensure smooth operations.
The company expects to extract 125,000 tonnes of ore grading 1.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from the starter pit, with most ore coming from the base of the pit during later stages of initial mining.
Auric targets a maiden haul of approximately 6,100 ounces of gold from early mining at an all-in sustaining cost of just $2,635 per ounce. Initial financial models, based on a conservative gold price of $3,500 per ounce, forecasted $5.3 million in free cash flow.
Mark English, Managing Director of Auric Mining, said, “Mining is in full swing and progressing as expected. We are achieving our targets and are pleased to be monetizing our major asset in such a bullish gold market. The timing is excellent, especially as an unhedged gold producer.”
With gold now trading near $5,100 an ounce, the potential upside looks even more promising, setting the stage for a substantial payoff from Munda’s opening phase.
The starter pit, which forms part of a larger resource, is expected to be completed by October.
Below the surface, the Munda deposit holds significant gold potential. At a 0.5 g/t cut-off, the resource includes 3.65 million tonnes grading 1.23 g/t, equating to roughly 145,000 ounces of gold. Lowering the cut-off to 0.2 g/t increases the resource to 189,000 ounces across indicated and inferred categories.
A 2023 scoping study conducted by Kalgoorlie-based Minecomp evaluated the broader Munda project at a then-base gold price of $2,600 per ounce. The study highlighted 1.716 million tonnes at an impressive 2.2 g/t grade, translating to an undiscounted surplus cash flow of $76.9 million. This figure could be significantly higher given today’s elevated gold prices.
Following the initial mining phase, Auric plans to finalize detailed designs for a larger pit development slated for 2026.
The early development cost of $6.5 million has been fully funded through gold sales from Auric’s Jeffreys Find project near Norseman, eliminating the need for additional capital raises or dilution of shares.
By removing overburden now—with a pre-strip ratio of 7.6:1—while gold prices remain strong, Auric anticipates lowering future mining costs and building operational resilience against market volatility.
The first phase will also provide critical data on the deposit, enabling Auric to refine its mining strategy before scaling to full production.
Preparations for long-term operations are advancing well. Auric has completed waste dump and run-of-mine pad construction, positioning the site for efficient ore handling and stockpiling as mining intensifies.
Given Munda’s proximity to established infrastructure and the strong gold price environment, the project is set to become a key revenue driver for Auric. The company’s unhedged position means it will fully benefit from any future market gains.
As gold prices flirt with record highs, Auric Mining’s timely progress—with equipment in place, blasting underway, and ounces soon to be extracted—signals a promising path toward early cash flow and sustained growth.
