Medallion clears Ravensthorpe approvals as production strategy takes shape

Ravensthorpe clears the permitting barrier

Medallion Metals Limited (ASX:MM8) is no longer describing Ravensthorpe as merely a development concept. The company says its Ravensthorpe Gold Project is now fully permitted and development has commenced at the Kundip Mining Centre, following final approvals received after the 30 June 2026 reporting date. Macmahon was selected as preferred underground mining contractor, while the board’s February Final Investment Decision moved the project from feasibility into execution.

The milestone gives Medallion a clearer path towards its intended production hub across Ravensthorpe and Forrestania. The company completed the Forrestania Gold Project acquisition in February, adding about 900 square kilometres of tenure, the Cosmic Boy Concentrator and existing accommodation, power, workshops and other infrastructure. The strategic logic is straightforward: use Forrestania’s processing base ahead of ore from Medallion’s own mines.

Cosmic Boy becomes the near-term production test

Cosmic Boy is now the most immediate operational proving ground. Medallion entered a $7.6 million early works agreement with GR Engineering Services during FY2026, and after year end awarded the contractor a $50 million engineering, procurement and construction contract for the concentrator’s refurbishment and modification. The company expects processing to begin in October 2026 using third-party ore, before Ravensthorpe ore is introduced.

That timetable is a forward-looking expectation rather than a reported production result. Still, the company’s post-year-end execution milestones, including the final Ravensthorpe approvals, point to a business moving quickly from studies and permitting into construction, commissioning and operating risk. The annual report also says Lounge Lizard is being evaluated as a potential additional feed source, with a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate in progress.

Funding has improved, but the loss is widening

Medallion ended FY2026 with $53.9 million in cash, compared with $9.4 million a year earlier, after raising $76.5 million in gross equity proceeds during the reporting period and repaying its existing shareholder loan. It also secured a US$50 million loan facility from Trafigura and a copper-gold concentrate offtake agreement, although the debt facility was undrawn at balance date. Subsequent to year end, the company completed a further $60 million placement at $0.48 a share.

The cash build came alongside a much larger loss. Net loss after tax rose to $18.6 million from $6.1 million, with care and maintenance at Forrestania, higher exploration spending, administrative costs and share-based payments all contributing. Operating cash outflow increased to $13.1 million, while investing cash outflow reached $16.9 million as Medallion funded exploration, mine development, equipment and the Forrestania acquisition.

Forrestania adds infrastructure and a major liability

The acquisition also changed the shape of Medallion’s balance sheet. Forrestania contributed assets valued at $56.4 million, but the company assumed a rehabilitation provision that stood at $53.8 million at acquisition and $48.2 million at year end after updated estimates. Total liabilities rose to $54.2 million from $5 million, leaving net assets of $86.3 million.

That obligation does not represent an immediate cash payment, but it is a material reminder that the acquired infrastructure comes with an environmental closure burden. Medallion says repurposing existing facilities will avoid about 120 hectares of additional land disturbance, while the Ravensthorpe project’s redesign from open pit to underground mining reduced its planned footprint from approximately 245 hectares to 73 hectares.

Resource growth runs alongside construction

Exploration remains central to the longer-term proposition. Medallion completed about 16,000 metres of drilling at Kundip during the year, reporting high-grade gold-copper intersections and mineralisation beyond existing resource boundaries. At Forrestania, the company began working through a historical database of about 53,000 drill holes, identified 53 gold targets and commenced drilling at Lounge Lizard.

The Ravensthorpe resource base stood at 1.09 million ounces of gold, 1,200 kilotonnes of copper and 42 million ounces of silver on the company’s stated open-pit and underground reporting basis, while the Kundip Mining Centre ore reserve was reported at 237,000 ounces of gold, 12,000 tonnes of copper and 270,000 ounces of silver. Medallion says it is assessing additional geological and technical data for a possible material change to the Ravensthorpe Mineral Resource Estimate, leaving the resource statement itself another item to monitor as development advances.