Hawthorn’s Anglo-Saxon gold plan nears a crucial decision

Anglo-Saxon moves towards a Stage 2 decision

Hawthorn Resources Limited (ASX:HAW) is approaching the most consequential decision in its gold portfolio: whether to commit to a larger open pit at Anglo-Saxon in Western Australia. The Trouser Legs Mining Joint Venture has completed the core optimisation work, with a scoping study and revised financial model now nearing completion ahead of a potential financial investment decision.

The case for expansion rests on a revised Mineral Resource Estimate of about 200,000 ounces at 4.2 grams per tonne gold. The December 2025 resource contains 199,719 cut ounces at 4.06 g/t from 1.53 million tonnes at a 0.5 g/t cut-off, while the uncut estimate is 206,326 ounces at 4.20 g/t. At a 3.0 g/t cut-off, the higher-grade component contains 151,359 cut ounces at 6.64 g/t.

The updated estimate incorporated 7,846 metres of drilling completed in October 2025. That program delivered 19 one-metre intervals grading above 30 g/t, according to the company, while also confirming narrow, high-grade vein sets extending down plunge and laterally. The earlier Anglo-Saxon drilling results had highlighted those high-grade intersections as support for open pit optimisation.

Hawthorn says the higher Australian-dollar gold price changed the risk-reward profile of the deposit and prompted the joint venture to model a substantial cutback and pre-strip operation. The company describes the larger Stage 2 development as low risk and profitable at current gold prices, but the report does not provide a completed feasibility study, capital cost, operating cost, production schedule or economic valuation. Those missing figures will matter more than the headline resource when the investment decision arrives.

Cash funds exploration while revenue disappears

The balance sheet gives Hawthorn room to continue the work, but not unlimited room. Cash and cash equivalents fell by A$1.53 million during FY2026 to A$11.05 million, while the company spent A$1.27 million on exploration and used A$259,394 in operating cash flow. Working capital remained substantial at A$10.59 million.

There was no ore-sale revenue during the year, compared with A$544,314 in FY2025. Total revenue fell to A$490,015, all of it from interest, and the net loss widened to A$595,755 from A$341,645. The annual report therefore presents Anglo-Saxon as a development proposition being funded from cash and interest income rather than an operating mine generating a recurring revenue stream. The financial figures had been outlined in the FY2026 financial results, but the annual report places them alongside the project’s pending development decision.

Pinjin East drilling adds a second exploration catalyst

Hawthorn is also testing for satellite deposits close to Anglo-Saxon. After year end, it began a 19-hole aircore program of up to 2,000 metres on its 100%-owned E31/1050 tenement at Pinjin East, about 1.5 kilometres east of the main pit.

The program targeted a historical gold-in-soil anomaly stretching more than 800 metres at above 50 parts per billion gold. Historical sampling included a peak result of 10.9 g/t, while an older drill hole returned 8 metres at 0.96 g/t, including 2 metres at 2.27 g/t. Assay results from the new holes were still pending when the report was prepared, leaving follow-up reverse-circulation drilling as a possibility rather than a committed next step.

Elsewhere, Hawthorn retains a 1% FOB royalty over the Mt Bevan magnetite project and a 34% interest in the Mt Bevan Other Minerals Joint Venture. Expenditure on the latter has ceased after inconclusive lithium pegmatite drilling, pending a decision by Legacy Iron Ore and Hancock on a restructured arrangement. That exposure remains optionality, but Anglo-Saxon is now clearly carrying the company’s near-term strategic weight.