Vertex Minerals has secured approval for round-the-clock underground operations at its Reward Gold Mine, removing the company’s stated biggest production constraint. The operational opening arrives alongside modest quarterly output, a sharply revised resource and reported cash coverage of less than half a quarter.
- 24-hour underground operations approved at Reward, up from roughly nine available working hours a day
- 203oz of gold produced and 142oz sold during the September quarter
- Reward resource now stands at 146,900oz, down 35% from the 2023 estimate
- $955,136 cash reported in the financial summary, versus $995,000 in Appendix 5B
- Company says it is seeking further equity or debt funding
Reward receives approval to operate around the clock
Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) has removed the operating restriction it says most sharply constrained the Reward Gold Mine, after Bathurst Regional Council approved 24-hour underground operations in August and the NSW Environment Protection Authority varied the site’s environmental licence in September.
The approvals lift available underground working time from approximately nine hours to about 22 hours a day, using equipment already on site. Blasting can now occur at any time within tighter overnight vibration and airblast limits, although Vertex must submit a Blast Management Plan and update its pollution response arrangements before continuous operations begin.
Under the former consent, underground firing was confined to a six-hour window between 9am and 3pm, six days a week. Vertex says that arrangement forced each mining face to fit bogging, support, drilling and charging into the same window, with a missed firing delaying the cycle by a full day. The company expects the new regime to support more development, additional stope firings and a smoother plant feed, but those benefits remain forward-looking rather than production guidance.
Mechanised stoping advances while quarterly output remains modest
Reward produced 203 ounces and sold 142 ounces during the September quarter, according to the report’s monthly production table. Production was held back by the single-shift regime and July downtime while both jumbos were fitted with Muki rails. Development advanced 144 metres, with a further 42 metres of decline rehabilitation completed.
The quarter included the first production firing of a mechanised long-hole stope on the high-grade Mica 1 lens, at a mining width of about 1.2 metres. The trial completed three panels and demonstrated that the modified equipment could produce a stope narrower than 1.2 metres over an eight-metre length. Vertex had earlier announced its first mechanised longhole stope as part of a shift away from more dilutive mining methods.
A Resemin Muki long-hole rig was completed in the factory at quarter end and is due to arrive at Sydney port in November. A second Bird underground truck has also reached site, while Vertex is recruiting about 10 people from the Bathurst region to support the move from one shift to two and ultimately continuous operations.
Resource grade improves, but contained ounces fall
The updated Reward Mineral Resource totals 274,000 tonnes at 16.68 grams per tonne gold for 146,900 ounces. Indicated material rose 36% in grade to 21.17 g/t, but total contained ounces fell 35% from the June 2023 estimate of 225,200 ounces. Vertex attributed the reduction to a 200 g/t top-cut on extreme assays and a revised interpretation of the lodes after reconciliation, mapping and underground development.
The company says the revision does not materially alter the current mine plan, while three priority underground drilling areas have been identified below the existing resource, around historic Hawkins Hill workings and along the Fosters corridor. Underground diamond drilling is planned for the first quarter of 2027. The resource update, which was previously covered in Reward resource revision, remains subject to possible further reinterpretation and independent assessment, and Vertex has not declared an Ore Reserve.
Funding remains the immediate financial constraint
The operational progress is set against a thin cash position. Vertex’s financial summary reports $955,136 in cash at 30 September, while its Appendix 5B reports $995,000. The same filing calculates just 0.40 quarters of funding on its reported operating outflows, or approximately 0.28 quarters when development capital is included.
Quarterly operating cash outflow was $2.475 million, with a further $1.369 million spent on property, plant and equipment. The company raised $858,000 through its share purchase plan and received $2.286 million from convertible debt during the quarter, but it also repaid $937,000 of borrowings. Vertex says it is actively seeking additional working capital through equity or debt funding. The SPP ultimately raised less than its original $2.5 million target, after the Reward funding plan was offered to existing shareholders.
There are also inconsistencies in the production disclosures: one summary table records 143 ounces recovered for the quarter, compared with 203 ounces produced in the operating tables. The company has stated that production data remains unaudited and subject to final metallurgical reconciliation and assay confirmation.
Bottom Line?
The approvals create a genuine test of Reward’s mine plan: Vertex now needs to convert additional underground hours into higher development rates and steadier gold sales before its limited cash buffer becomes the dominant story.
Questions in the middle?
- How quickly can Vertex recruit, train and sustain the nightshift needed to use the new operating window?
- Will development metres, stope availability and plant feed improve enough to reduce the company’s reliance on further funding?
- How will management reconcile the differing cash and gold recovery figures in the next quarterly report?