Could you introduce Theta Gold Mines?

Theta Gold Mines is an ASX-listed company with a large tenement of 160 km long x 30 km wide on the Eastern Transvaal Gold Fields region in South Africa. In total, we control 43 historical gold mines, six of which have a JORC resource. Our project is called Transvaal Gold Mining Este (TGME), it is underground, and contains to date 6 million oz of gold resources. In the first phase, we are targeting 1.2 million oz (from 6.46 million t @ 5.95 g/t Au) production for 12 years from four out of the 43 mines: Beta, Frankfurt, Clewer-Dukes Hill-Morgenzon (CDHM), and Rietfontein, in the Mpumalanga province. We already completed a feasibility study and the required permitting, and we are now at a funding and project execution phase, having started on the final design works, with the build teams on site. Once we finish the four to five months of preliminary work, we can come to the market with a very short build phase timeframe of 12-14 months. With the four mines in production, we are targeting a guidance of 120,000 oz/y; within five years of that initial production, we plan to add three more mines, ramping up to 160,000 oz/y from the seven mines. 

Could you give us a sense of the history and geology of the place? 

Stretching for about 640 km2 and sitting on the eastern side of the Bushveld Complex, the Eastern Transvaal Gold Fields is known as one of the most prolific places for gold discoveries in history and home to South Africa’s first gold rush. Mining started just before the turn of the century on two tenement packages, later coming together to form Transvaal Gold Mining Estates (TGME), South Africa’s first gold company merger – and our subsidiary in the country. TGME therefore has a history of 130 years, with the main mines in production until the 1970s. Beta is one of these, which boasted cut-off grades at 21 g/t Au during production. Unlike the typical, vertical gold reefs, we are looking at large, horizontal reef systems, whereby the gold was pushed from the Bushveld Complex into this gold field basin, with very high gold-grades being abdorbed by the carbonate host rock. 

What is the capital requirement to bring the first four mines at TGME into production? 

The estimated peak funding requirement (before we become cash-flow positive) was approximated at US$77 million in the old feasibility study, but correlated to inflation, it will have gone up to between US$86-US$100 million. We are currently reworking some of the numbers and looking to accelerate gold production from the tailings, which is estimated to host about 176,000 oz of gold. Recently, we resampled the tailings with our EPC building partner (Power China) and negotiated a delayed EPC payment process where we pay them post-production, therefore reducing the initial capital requirements. Theta Gold Mines is currently engaging multiple parties for financing, and we are advanced in one of our discussions, but we cannot disclose more just yet.

What are some of the key advantages of revitalizing brownfield assets?

Our low AISC (US$788/oz in the first four years and US$847/oz throughout LOM) is a function of several aspects: First, we rely on existing infrastructure, with nearly 100 km of underground workings already in place. The other aspect is the high grade at around 6 g/t Au. The nature of the reef also plays a role because it leaves us with a very shallow mine. More than that, our workforce will be quite small, since we will be relying heavily on modernized, computer-assisted machinery. 

Finally, a big advantage of our process is the very low carbon footprint. Theta Gold Mines has a powerful ESG proposition because we plan to move all tailings underground and to create a positive water balance (deliver more water to the basin than what we consume). 

Do you have a final message?

Theta Gold Mines has one of the largest undeveloped gold resources on the ASX, with an AISC in the bottom cost quartile worldwide, which markedly differentiates us from the rest of the herd. We are progressing towards a final investment decision to commence project development. In the near term, key milestones include finalizing our execution documentation and securing funding by early 2025. Additionally, we will provide the market with updates on the tailings project to accelerate production.