Dome’s Sigatoka progress remains hostage to audit and funding

Sigatoka reaches public review stage

Dome Gold Mines Limited (ASX:DME) has moved its Sigatoka project into formal public scrutiny, with the draft Environmental Impact Assessment now subject to a statutory 21-day review ending on 30 October. Public meetings in Sigatoka are scheduled for 6 and 7 November, after which Fiji’s Department of Environment and Climate Change will consider the report and submitted comments before deciding the next stage of the assessment.

The milestone is meaningful for a project that remains central to Dome’s plans to produce magnetite concentrate and construction sand. It is not, however, an approval to mine. The company said the review period had generated both support and opposition in the local community, and expressed confidence that concerns would be addressed through the EIA and presentations by its environmental consultants.

The Sigatoka process has advanced alongside a continuing funding and audit problem. Dome’s annual financial report for the year ended 30 June 2026 remains incomplete because the company must provide an independent valuation of the project and demonstrate a cash position sufficient to satisfy going-concern requirements. A qualified valuer has been located, but funding for the valuation and working capital is still being negotiated. The shares remain suspended from trading.

Funding proposal meets a cash shortfall

The funding issue was already tied to the delayed accounts in the pending audit and valuation process, but the quarterly figures underline the pressure. Dome reported no cash at 30 September, after A$202,000 of operating outflows and A$48,000 of investing outflows were offset by A$250,000 of financing inflows. It had drawn A$1.297 million from loan facilities, with A$3.303 million shown as unused finance facilities at quarter end.

Dome has proposed raising up to A$3 million through convertible notes to fund the final Sigatoka feasibility work, airborne geophysics and future drilling preparation at Nadrau, management hiring and working capital. The proposal is not stated to be fully committed. During the quarter, the company recorded A$230,000 from convertible debt and issued a further A$30,000 of convertible notes on 6 October, but said additional notes would be issued only if required under a new offering.

On the company’s Appendix 5B calculation, available funding represented about 13 quarters at the quarter’s relevant outgoings rate. That figure includes unused loan facilities rather than cash in the bank, and the company’s ability to use those facilities is part of the wider funding picture rather than a substitute for resolving the audit and suspension.

Nadrau funding discussions remain unfinished

Dome also reported expressions of interest from groups that could fund renewed exploration at its Nadrau porphyry copper-gold-silver project, either through direct investment or an earn-in joint venture. Non-disclosure agreements have been signed with two potential investment groups, but no commercial terms have been finalised. The project remains an exploration proposition, with airborne geophysics intended to help define targets before drilling.

The company completed the relinquishment of its Ono Island licence after Fiji’s Mineral Resources Department confirmed that all conditions had been met, releasing environmental bonds and the balance of rental payments. The more consequential near-term tests are elsewhere: whether Dome can secure the funding needed to complete its accounts, whether the Sigatoka review progresses beyond consultation, and whether the proposed capital can be converted into actual project work while the trading suspension remains in place.