Two S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stocks are grabbing headlines today.
Namely, Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) and De Grey Mining Ltd (ASX: DEG).
Both miners have benefited from a soaring gold price, with the yellow metal currently trading just a few dollars off its all-time highs at US$2,741.46 per ounce.
Here's what they announced today.
ASX 200 gold stock ramps up final investment decision
De Grey Mining shares are slipping today, down 1.0% at $1.43 a share after the ASX 200 gold stock released its latest drill results from the Brolga deposit at its Hemi Gold Project, located in Western Australia.
This leaves the De Grey Mining share price up 22% over 12 months.
The infill grade control drilling was conducted to allow detailed ore production, stockpiling and plant feed scheduling for the commissioning and ramp-up phase at Hemi.
The ASX 200 gold stock has received around 60% of assays to date and will include those results in the update to the Hemi Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) next month.
De Grey said the "strong results" support its Hemi Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) mine plan and the "rapid capital payback" from the Brolga Stage 1 pit.
The Brolga Stage 1 pit contains a Probable Ore Reserve of 26.9 million tonnes at 1.64 grams per tonne for 1.42 million ounces of contained gold.
Commenting on the infill drill results to date, De Grey general manager exploration Phil Tornatora said, "It is great to see these solid intercepts returned from the infill grade control drilling at Brolga."
He added:
While not surprising considering the results of previous drilling, it confirms the quality of the Brolga orebody. Many of these holes intersect wide, continuous zones of mineralisation directly beneath the transported cover, where ore production will commence.
This drilling continues our strategy of building operational readiness across the business as we await final environmental approvals and a final investment decision for Hemi.
Which brings us to…
Ramelius Resources maintains full-year guidance
The Ramelius Resources share price is also in the red, down 2.2% at $2.28 a share, after the ASX 200 gold stock released its quarterly results this morning. This leaves Ramelius Resources shares up 35% in 12 months.
As for the September quarter, Ramelius reported gold production of 62,444 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of AU$1,965 per ounce. Excluding a one-off non-cash component for the draw down of existing stockpiles, AISC came in at AU$1,589/oz.
Gold sales were 62,806 ounces at an average price of AU$3,359 per ounce for revenue of AU$211 million.
Operating cash flow for the quarter was AU$111.2 million with underlying free cash flow of AU$89.6 million.
Among the highlights over the three months, ore mining commenced ahead of schedule at Ramelius' Cue project, with 35,359 tonnes at 10.2g/t for 11,574 ounces of high-grade currently stockpiled at the site. Management plans to commence ore haulage within the next few weeks.
And in July, the ASX 200 gold stock invested AU$97.6 million in Spartan Resources Ltd (ASX: SPR) shares, increasing its ownership to 18.35%.
Looking ahead, Ramelius maintained its full-year guidance at 270,000 to 300,000 ounces of gold at an AISC of AU$1,500 to AU$1,700 per ounce. Management noted that Mt Magnet production is weighted to the second half when the high-grade ore from its Cue and Penny project is processed
As at 30 September, the ASX 200 gold stock had cash and gold of AU$438.6 million.
