Black Cat Syndicate and Dreadnought Resources have agreed to jointly fund and develop the Star of Mangaroon open pit resource in Western Australia.
The agreement establishes turn-key funding, development, haulage and processing of the Star of Mangaroon, a high-grade gold deposit located southwest of Black Cat’s Paulsens Gold operation.
Black Cat agreed to engage and manage contractors, as well as provide all funding up to AU$10 million, to develop and haul ore from the resource. If development funding exceeds AU$10 million, Dreadnought and Black Cat will split the additional funding evenly between the two companies.
The two companies will share surplus cash flow from the project, split 50/50 for the first AU$80 million and then 70 per cent for Dreadnought and 30 per cent to Black Cat for any additional cash flow beyond AU$80 million.
Dreadnought managing director Dean Tuck said the partnership with Black Cat will deliver positive cash flow for the business.
“This mutually beneficial arrangement allows us to leverage Black Cat’s existing operations and extensive experience in managing gold mining and processing to deliver positive cash flows while we maintain focus on exploration and discovery at Mangaroon and Illaara.”
A separate ore purchase agreement between Dreadnought and Paulsens, the owner of the Paulsens gold operation, grants Dreadnought up to 110,000 tonnes of processing allocation at Paulsens throughout 2026.
Black Cat managing director Gareth Solly said the Star of Mangaroon project fits in nicely with the company’s Paulsens’ strategy.
“The high-grade feed will allow Paulsens to preferentially treat high-grade ore from the Paulsens underground while stockpiling lower-grade material, increasing total gold production in the short to medium term,” Solly said.
“In addition, Black Cat has exposure to further discoveries around the Star of Mangaroon, which we see as highly prospective.”
Dreadnought is now working to secure all necessary permits and licences by April 30, 2026. Within 60 days of receiving all approvals, Black Cat will negotiate and secure all contracts to start mining activities.
Black Cat will set up a new entity to manage and fund the development of the Star of Mangaroon.
