Native Mineral Resources Holdings Ltd. has announced it has reached a major milestone, surpassing 1,000 ounces of gold production at its Blackjack gold project in Queensland.
The company said it achieved cumulative gold outturn of 1,0009.53 ounces at Blackjack since late July. There have also been regular gold pours each month from August to November, confirming steady-state operations at Blackjack.
NMR CEO Blake Cannavo commented: “This update marks a clear milestone for NMR – we are now a producing gold company. Passing 1,000 ounces of gold outturn – with regular pours every month since August – shows that Blackjack is operating at steady state and building a production base that can grow over time.
Since its September 29 smelt, the company has completed four additional campaigns totalling 544 ounces of doré, yielding 313 ounces of refined gold at an average purity of 57.5 per cent.
A further smelt on November 26 produced 326 ounces of doré.
Meanwhile, the Blackjack processing plant has shown strong performance following a planned maintenance shutdown, with high availability and recovery rates.
“We completed a shutdown in October that was a strategic investment in reliability,” Cannavo said.
“With the upgraded mill lubrication systems, relined bearings and control improvements, plant availability and recoveries are where we need them to be as we look at plant throughput growth with Ausenco.”
Additionally, the company is advancing its tailings storage facility and environmental approvals. A stage three 2.5-metre lift involves roughly 70,000 cubic metres of embankment fill, of which approximately 42,000 cubic metres have been placed, compacted and tested. Completion for this remains targeted for mid-December.
NMR also provided an update for its Far Fanning operations. The company is progressing with Far Fanning stockpile removal activities under the Environmental Enforcement Order (EEO) issued in September. Five separate stockpiles were identified under the EEO, and haulage is currently active.
NMR is aiming to commence Far Fanning mining in late fourth quarter of 2026 or early first quarter of 2027.