Blackjack’s stronger quarter puts NMR’s production consistency to the test

Blackjack gold outturn rises to approximately 2,331oz

Native Mineral Resources Holdings Limited (ASX:NMR) has posted its strongest quarterly operating improvement yet at the Blackjack Gold Operations near Charters Towers, Queensland. Refined gold outturn reached approximately 2,331oz in Q3 CY26, up 84% from 1,268.2oz in Q2, after production of 326.6oz in July, a record 1,080.5oz in August and 923.85oz in September.

The latest figure is based on completed refinery results, rather than simply the weight of doré produced. Results for BJM100 and BJM101 added 163.48oz of refined gold and 103.71oz of silver to September's total. The company’s 29 September doré smelt had earlier lifted preliminary September production, but the final refinery data now provide the quarter’s confirmed outturn.

Higher head grade drives recovered gold growth

The key operating change was not just more material through the plant. Dry tonnes milled increased 5% to 70,987t, while the weighted reconciled head grade rose from approximately 0.63g/t of gold in Q2 to 1.10g/t in Q3, a 74.6% increase. Reconciled gold recovered consequently rose 81.4%, from 1,315.8oz to 2,387.4oz.

August was the standout month, with 28,104t milled at a reconciled head grade of 1.38g/t and 1,171.3oz of reconciled gold recovered. September’s grade was lower at 0.80g/t, illustrating that the quarterly improvement still contains month-to-month variability rather than a uniform production rate.

Mill availability stays near 99% despite smelting bottleneck

Processing performance remained comparatively strong. Average mill availability rose to approximately 99.2% from 93.7% in Q2, with monthly availability of 99.0% in July, 99.9% in August and 98.7% in September. Reconciled plant recovery was approximately 94.7%, slightly below Q2’s 95.6% but still above 94% throughout the quarter, according to the company.

That reliability has not removed every constraint. Managing director and chief executive Blake Cannavo said laboratory productivity limited smelting capacity during September, with NMR considering a second shift to address the bottleneck. The company’s stated December-quarter priorities are to maintain plant performance, improve feed consistency and produce higher, more consistent gold output.

October smelt provides an early December-quarter test

The Blackjack plant’s 6 October smelt produced three doré bars weighing a combined 296.6oz, comprising one 53.9oz gravity-circuit bar and two elution-circuit bars weighing 210oz and 32.7oz. Final refinery weight, assays and gold and silver outturn for these bars are expected next week, so the gross doré weight should not yet be treated as confirmed refined gold.

Since production began in July 2025, Blackjack has produced 15,690.8oz of gold doré, with official refinery results returning cumulative outturn of 5,892.5oz of refined gold and 6,885.5oz of silver. The next useful test is whether Q3’s improved grade and throughput can be sustained while NMR removes the laboratory constraint and converts plant performance into a steadier sequence of refinery-confirmed ounces.