Rox outlines a path beyond Youanmi’s initial gold plan

Youanmi’s growth pitch runs ahead of its mine plan

Rox Resources (ASX:RXL) is positioning the Youanmi Gold Project as more than a seven-year development, but the company is careful to label its most ambitious figure an aspiration rather than a forecast. Rox says it aims to become a gold producer exceeding 150,000 ounces a year, with the potential upside resting on resource conversion, exploration success, future studies and greater use of the processing plant.

That distinction matters. The current definitive feasibility study supports an initial mine plan of about 900,000 tonnes a year and 817,000 ounces of gold doré over roughly seven years, averaging approximately 117,000 ounces annually. The plant is designed for 1 million tonnes a year, leaving stated capacity between the initial mine plan and the processing circuit, but no production target has yet been established for the gap.

Construction and underground development move towards 2027

Rox says the project is fully funded, with A$218 million of equity completed and syndicated facilities comprising A$300 million of debt, a A$20 million cost-overrun facility and a A$30 million bank-guarantee facility. Pre-production capital is estimated at A$383 million. Site construction and mill works are advancing, while underground mining is underway across three declines.

The company is targeting a first gold pour in mid-2027, followed by production ramp-up from late 2027. Underground development has been completed on two levels, with further levels under development and production stoping preparations progressing. Rox also expects to build a 190,000-tonne stockpile grading about 3.3 grams per tonne before commissioning, a planned buffer intended to support the start-up of the mill.

Reserve and resource provide the starting base

Youanmi’s September 2026 estimate contains a probable Ore Reserve of 4.8 million tonnes at 4.7 grams per tonne for 727,000 ounces. The broader Mineral Resource stands at 12.4 million tonnes at about 5.4 grams per tonne for 2.2 million ounces, leaving a substantial difference between the resource base and the ounces included in the initial mine plan.

Rox is pursuing underground, surface and regional drilling to convert resources, test extensions and potentially increase production rates or mine life. The presentation points to more than 60 kilometres of strike on the Youanmi Shear Zone and identifies United North, Interceptor, Hope and Commonwealth among its growth areas. Those programs may create future options, but they do not yet change the published production schedule or reserve estimate.

Project economics depend on gold price and delivery

The DFS presents a pre-tax NPV8 of A$1.4 billion and a 69% IRR at a base-case gold price of A$5,200 an ounce, with post-tax NPV8 of A$1.0 billion and a 55% IRR. At the presentation’s stated spot-price case of A$6,100 an ounce, those figures rise to A$1.9 billion pre-tax and A$1.3 billion post-tax. Rox estimates life-of-mine AISC at A$1,978 an ounce, but these are non-IFRS, forward-looking measures and remain sensitive to operating performance and gold prices.

The production target also carries a geological qualification: about 20% of life-of-mine ounces are underpinned by Inferred Mineral Resources, although the first four years are supported by approximately 89% Indicated and 11% Inferred resources. The immediate test is therefore less the rhetoric around 150kozpa than whether construction, commissioning and early underground production hold to schedule. Only later drilling and study work can determine whether the spare mill capacity becomes a durable expansion case.