Catalyst’s Plutonic reserve base reaches a pivotal 2Moz milestone

2Moz Reserve Anchors Plutonic Growth Plan

Catalyst Metals Limited (ASX:CYL) has reached the reserve milestone at the centre of its Plutonic strategy: about 2Moz of probable Ore Reserves across the Western Australian gold belt. The detailed table reports 1.971Moz at 2.6g/t gold, up 35% from 1.5Moz a year earlier, providing the inventory for a management target of approximately 200koz of annual production over roughly 10 years.

That is a materially different proposition from the current operation, which produces about 100koz a year from Plutonic Main, Plutonic East and Keillor at an all-in sustaining cost of approximately A$2,800 an ounce. Catalyst plans to bring Trident underground, Cinnamon and Old Highway into production, with ore feeding an existing 2Mtpa carbon-in-leach plant that the company describes as underutilised and centrally located.

Higher-Grade Deposits Carry More of the Inventory

The reserve growth is not simply a larger number on a spreadsheet. Catalyst says roughly half of the belt’s reserves now come from higher-grade sources including Trident, Old Highway, Cinnamon and Keillor. The underground inventory totals 1.751Moz at 3.0g/t, while open pits contribute 213koz at 1.4g/t and surface stockpiles add 7koz.

Trident contributes 524koz at 4.2g/t, Cinnamon 232koz at 3.0g/t, Keillor 101koz underground at 3.8g/t plus a small open-pit component, and Old Highway 101koz underground at 4.8g/t alongside 54koz from its open pit. Catalyst says it has added approximately 1.8Moz of reserves after depletion since acquiring and consolidating the belt, at a cumulative exploration cost of about A$226 million, or approximately A$125 an ounce.

Old Highway Adds a New Development Test

Old Highway is the most consequential new development element in the release. Its updated resource stands at 313koz at 2.4g/t, including 186koz of underground resource at 4.1g/t, while its probable reserve totals 155koz. The proposed mine combines contractor-operated open pits with an owner-operated underground mine, with ore trucked to the Plutonic plant.

The project is supported by a pre-feasibility-level assessment and a positive NPV under the company’s assumptions, including a gold price of A$4,500 an ounce and a 7% discount rate. Those assumptions do not remove the execution work: Old Highway still requires site infrastructure, mining approvals and further development before it can contribute to the production target. No external review of the Old Highway Ore Reserve was disclosed.

Balance Sheet Gives Catalyst Room to Execute

Catalyst reported A$331 million of cash and bullion and no debt, which it says provides the balance-sheet capacity to execute its plan without external pressure. The company also says the new reserve base reduces the theoretical annual reserve-replacement burden from approximately 600koz of growth to about 200koz if it chooses to shift its exploration emphasis from aggressive expansion to replacement.

That choice has not been made. Catalyst plans to continue drilling for down-dip extensions and reserve conversion, particularly at Trident and Cinnamon, while exploration at Old Highway and Keillor seeks to extend their mine lives. A decision on exploration activities and expenditure is scheduled for December 2026.

Production Target Still Depends on Conversion and Delivery

The reserve milestone removes one important uncertainty from the 200koz plan, but it does not make the production rate automatic. The company itself notes that earlier 10-year guidance should be treated as a general expression of management’s vision after permitting changes, operating delays and changes in processing capability. The target also requires three new mines to be developed and integrated through a single processing hub.

There is additional resource upside: the belt contains about 5.0Moz of Mineral Resources at 3.2g/t, including roughly 1.0Moz classified as Inferred. At Plutonic East, however, high-grade mineralisation has very short-range continuity and no Measured Resources were declared in the updated estimate. The next test for Catalyst is therefore less about finding a headline number and more about converting the reserve base into consistent tonnes through the mill.