Aeris Resources has more than tripled the Golden Plateau mineral resource at its Cracow operation to 200,000 ounces of contained gold, supported by new drilling and a revised geological model. The deposit is not yet an Ore Reserve, but Aeris has begun mine design and permitting work around a potential open-pit and underground development.
- 3.0Mt at 2.1g/t gold and 8g/t silver
- Contained gold rises 220% to 200koz
- Measured and Indicated resource reaches 99koz
- 15,000m of further drilling planned in FY27
- Mine design and permitting now underway
Golden Plateau Resource Reaches 200koz of Gold
Aeris Resources (ASX:AIS) has turned Golden Plateau from a relatively modest resource into a potentially meaningful second front at its Cracow gold operation, lifting contained gold by 220% to 200,000 ounces. The updated estimate totals 3.0 million tonnes at 2.1 grams per tonne gold and 8g/t silver, containing 750,000 ounces of silver.
The increase from the June 2026 estimate is substantial: tonnes rose from 640,000 to 3.0Mt, while contained gold climbed from 63koz. Measured and Indicated material now accounts for 99koz of gold, or about half of the total, compared with just 14koz of Indicated gold in the previous estimate. The update follows the same resource-expansion thread as Aeris’s June resource and reserve update, which reported growth across the wider group portfolio.
Larger Open Pit Drives Most of the Increase
Most of the growth sits in the potential open-pit component. Open-pit material expanded to 2.5Mt containing 150koz of gold, from 150,000 tonnes and 14koz previously. Aeris said the larger conceptual pit shell reflects a higher gold price assumption and revised geological interpretation, while retaining the 0.5g/t gold cut-off.
That extra tonnage comes with a lower average grade: open-pit grade fell from 2.8g/t to 1.9g/t gold as more lower-grade mineralisation entered the shell. The underground resource contains a broadly unchanged 50koz of gold, although its reporting basis has shifted to stope-optimisation shapes using a 1.0g/t whole-of-stope cut-off. The figures are therefore not simply a drilling-led expansion; changes in interpretation, reporting method and price assumptions all matter.
Drilling Supports a Potential Cracow Extension
The revised estimate incorporates 88 new drill holes totalling 16,204 metres, alongside a review of historical maps, level plans and sectional interpretations dating back to the 1970s. Aeris said the work identified additional mineralised lodes and extended previously modelled lodes, with the resource constrained within a conceptual pit shell and underground stope shapes to satisfy the JORC Code requirement for reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction.
Golden Plateau lies about 1 kilometre from the Cracow processing facility and 2 kilometres from the Western Vein Field. Aeris plans another 15,000m of drilling during FY27 to test extensions, improve confidence and validate historical underground workings. The company said a further MRE is planned after the programme, while detailed mine design has started for a possible open-pit and underground operation feeding the existing processing plant.
Studies and Permitting Still Stand Between Resource and Mine
The resource is an important milestone, but it is not an Ore Reserve and does not establish future production or mine life. Aeris still has to progress environmental approvals, geotechnical work, mine sequencing and metallurgical testing. The company expects permitting activities for a new operation to be completed during FY28, including an amendment to its Environmental Authority and an updated rehabilitation and closure plan.
Metallurgical testing on eight variability samples produced average gold extraction of 93.3% and silver extraction of 64.1%, with results varying materially between samples. Aeris said comminution performance was broadly consistent with current underground ore, but the testwork will continue on newly identified extensions. The filing also flags the uncertainties attached to historic workings, with approximately 12% of the current resource within 5 metres of a predicted stope void and much of the estimate still classified as Inferred.
Bottom Line?
Golden Plateau now has the scale to support a mine-life conversation, but FY27 drilling, permitting and the first Ore Reserve estimate will determine whether the resource can become mineable production.
Questions in the middle?
- How much of the 200koz resource can ultimately convert into an Ore Reserve after further drilling and mine design?
- Will the larger, lower-grade open-pit component deliver acceptable economics under detailed study rather than conceptual shell assumptions?
- How accurately can Aeris reconcile historic workings and voids before committing capital to a new Golden Plateau operation?