Greatland Gold emphasized that enhancing its expansion portfolio will be a key objective in the forthcoming year, building on the initial headway made at Paterson South, which forms part of its collaboration with Rio Tinto.
The managing director, Shaun Day, noted that the company is strategically poised to capitalize on all opportunities that could enhance its value. This positioning follows a significant strategic investment from Wyloo totalling £33.5 million, along with additional capital.
Day highlighted the exploration progress made throughout their portfolio, which he believes offers excellent flexibility and potential for discovery, particularly in light of developments at Havieron. He mentioned this alongside the annual results announcement.
He also remarked on the considerable advancement at Havieron, a gold and copper project in conjunction with Newcrest/Newmont, noting the impressive progress with the decline nearing the upper sections of the ore deposit.
The company reported annual losses of £26 million (previously £10.8 million) as of June 2023, which reflects the increased operational activities at Havieron and in other areas.
At the close of the fiscal year, Greatland Gold had cash and cash equivalents amounting to £31.1 million.
Corporate highlights
- Retained 30% ownership of Havieron at the conclusion of the 5% option process provided for in the Havieron Joint Venture Agreement, an outcome that delivers substantial value to Greatland shareholders
- Strengthened the Board with the appointments of Mark Barnaba (Non-Executive Chairman), Elizabeth Gaines (Non-Executive Deputy Chair), Jimmy Wilson (Executive Director) and Yasmin Broughton (Non-Executive Director).
- Successfully completed equity raisings of £63.3 million, including £33.5 million cornerstone investment by Wyloo (which currently holds 8.45% of the Company’s shares)
- Letter of Support signed with ANZ, HSBC and ING for Havieron, supporting a A$220 million seven-year syndicated debt and associated hedging facilities and subsequent to year end
- Executed a A$50 million unsecured standby loan facility (Standby Facility) with Wyloo Metals (Wyloo)
Portfolio highlights
- Continued the expedited development of the underground decline at Havieron, in parallel with the Feasibility Study that continues to progress well, assessing several value enhancing options to maximise value and derisk the project
- Entered into a farm-in and joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration to explore more than 1,500km2 of highly prospective tenure near Havieron; commenced drilling within one month
- Signed a landmark land access agreement for the Ernest Giles project; awarded a drilling grant under the Government of Western Australia’s Exploration Incentive Scheme
- Continued to advance exploration at our tenements in the Paterson, in particular Scallywag
- At the Juri Joint Venture, a second exploration programme commenced in May 2022 with encouraging assay results
Greatland Managing Director, Shaun Day, commented: “This year has seen Greatland continue to make significant progress towards the development of our world-class mining asset, Havieron. Progress at Havieron has been impressive, bringing us closer to the top of the Havieron ore body. In addition to our flagship project, there has been exploration advancement across our portfolio, which we believe provides excellent optionality and prospectivity in addition to Havieron.
“We have significantly enhanced our corporate position by securing both equity and debt financing, and in particular the strategic cornerstone equity investment from Wyloo. We are now well positioned to make the most of all value generative opportunities as and when they become available.”
“Over the past year, the Greatland team has successfully continued to establish our growth platform, and we are eager to continue building on it in the coming year. The joint venture agreement with Rio Tinto Exploration is a great example of the strides we have taken, and we are excited about the opportunity presented by our Paterson South farm-in.”
Publication of Annual Report
The 2023 Annual Report is available for download on our website at https://greatlandgold.com/investors/results/ and will be mailed out to registered shareholders.
