Kaiser Reef Limited reports A$40M cash and bullion in September quarter

Kaiser Reef Limited ASXKAU said on Friday it produced 6,263 ounces of gold in the September quarter and held A$40 million in cash and bullion at Sept. 30. The combined balance was A$2.8 million above the A$37.2 million it reported at June 30, giving the Australian producer a larger reserve as it works to raise output at Henty.

Kaiser shares fell 5.3 per cent to A$0.18 by 1:44 p.m. AEDT on Friday in Sydney, according to the ASXKAU quote page.

The Oct. 9 production update put Henty in Tasmania at 5,692 gold ounces for the three months to Sept. 30 and Maldon in Victoria at 572 ounces. Henty also poured 5,259 silver ounces during the quarter, while the company said production there was still below its target.

Kaiser said a 312-ounce reduction in the gold loan used to acquire Henty had an approximate A$1.9 million net effect during the September quarter. It said 104 ounces remained on the Auramet loan and would be repaid in October, removing an acquisition liability even as it kept spending on the mines.

"Our production at Henty is not yet where we want it to be," managing director Brad Valiukas said in the release.

Valiukas said the company had made personnel changes at Henty and expected production to improve. Henty's September-quarter output was 129 ounces above its 5,563 ounces in the June quarter, according to Kaiser's July 30 quarterly report, though the latest update gave no new quarterly production target for the mine.

In its Oct. 9 update, Kaiser described Henty as an underground mine with a 198,000-ounce ore reserve and a processing plant rated at more than 300,000 tonnes a year.

Maldon produced 437 ounces in the June quarter and 572 ounces in the September quarter; it also has an operating 200,000-tonne-a-year processing plant. Kaiser said it spent during the September quarter on infrastructure, equipment and exploration across its two operations.

The June quarterly report split that A$37.2 million balance into A$37.0 million of cash and A$0.2 million of bullion. It said cash had declined by A$8.6 million during the June quarter as Kaiser invested in mine work, exploration and property purchases.

Kaiser also listed a separate 150-ounce deferred payment with an estimated A$0.9 million net effect in the September quarter. Friday's update did not split its latest A$40 million balance between cash and bullion.

Kaiser targeted 32,000 ounces of gold production across Henty and Maldon for fiscal 2027 in its July report, following 6,000 ounces in the June quarter. Its first quarter contributed 6,263 ounces, leaving 25,737 ounces to reach that earlier target over the next three quarters if the target is unchanged.

Kaiser plans to repay the remaining 104 ounces on its Auramet gold loan in October.