Cinnamon Resource grows 370%, maiden underground Reserve

Key points

• Cinnamon Resource increases by 370% to 6.9Mt at 2.5g/t Au for 541koz
• Maiden Underground Reserve of 232koz at 3.0g/t Au with a 7.5 year mine life
• Cinnamon is the sixth ore source in Catalyst's plan to increase production to ±200koz pa
• High-grade mineralisation in repeating conglomerate units suggests further growth potential
• Cinnamon ore will be transported to the Plutonic processing plant, 25km away

Full summary

Catalyst Metals Ltd has announced an updated Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve for the Cinnamon deposit on the Plutonic Gold Belt in Western Australia. The update includes a maiden Resource and Reserve for the recently discovered underground zone. The Resource has increased by 370% to 6.9Mt at 2.5g/t Au for 541koz, with an Open Pit and Underground Resource of 2.9Mt at 1.2g/t for 108koz and 4Mt at 3.4g/t for 434koz, respectively. The maiden Underground Reserve of 232koz at 3.0g/t Au underpins a life of mine production target with a 7.5 year mine life, reaching steady state annual production of 40-50koz. Cinnamon is the sixth ore source in Catalyst's plan to grow Plutonic Gold Belt production to ±200koz per annum. The high-grade Cinnamon shoot is hosted in one of several repeating conglomerate units, indicating potential for further growth. The underground mine plan contemplates utilising paste fill to maximise extraction, with gold recoveries of 90% for the underground and 92% for the open pit.

Guidance

Cinnamon underground development metrics assume a pre-production capital of $35m, with an average annual production of 48koz and an average annual free cash flow of $117m.

Outlook

Cinnamon is expected to become a third base load ore source in Plutonic's ±200koz plan, alongside Plutonic (Main and East) and Trident. These base load ore sources will be supplemented by high-grade production from Keillor and Old Highway.