Maritana Minerals has cleared the final hurdle to develop a major gold processing facility in the heart of Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, securing the final statutory permit needed to build its 2.5-million-tonne-per-annum Black Swan gold processing hub.
The company says the grant of a native vegetation clearing permit gives it the full green light to begin earthworks and construction of the new sections of the plant, 50 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie.
To maintain the momentum, Maritana has also extended its early works agreement with contractor GR Engineering Services to October 2027, adding another A$6.5 million to the pot and bringing the total related commitment to A$31.5 million. The move ensures engineering, procurement and construction activities continue uninterrupted while the full engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract is finalised.
With all of the necessary approvals now in hand, Maritana is targeting first gold from the Black Swan hub in the second half of 2027. The development is central to its “hub-and-spoke” strategy, which aims to funnel ore from an extensive portfolio of surrounding gold projects within a radius of up to 100km, underpinning the company's goal of becoming a standalone producer of around 100,000 ounces of gold per year.
The company is also targeting a mid-2027 mining restart at its Boorara project, 16km southeast of Kalgoorlie, which will likely form a key source of initial feed for the new processing facility.
Maritana Minerals managing director and chief executive officer Grant Haywood said: “The Native Vegetation Clearing Permit (NVCP) was the last statutory approval required for the full processing plant; this is a significant milestone for Maritana and the development of the Black Swan Processing Hub in preparation for first gold in H2 CY2027. Extending the early works agreement with GR Engineering to 31 October 2027 keeps the engineering, long-lead procurement, on-site works and construction activities running while the EPC contract is being finalised.”
Supporting Maritana's overall strategy is a colossal combined mineral resource of 41.8 million tonnes at 1.6 grams per tonne (g/t) for a contained 2.15 million ounces of gold, spread across multiple deposits, including established ore reserves of 235,600 ounces of gold. That figure was attained at the end of August, when Maritana declared a maiden underground ore reserve at its Rose Hill project, near Coolgardie, adding 31,600 ounces to its inventory.
To further consolidate its future mine plan, Maritana is currently running a massive 60,000-metre resource-conversion drilling campaign across its Kalgoorlie project area to upgrade inferred resources into the higher-confidence indicated category.
While the hefty resource base provides the scale, some of the company's deposits pack a serious high-grade punch. Recent phase one diamond drilling at its Burbanks deposit, nine kilometres south of Coolgardie, for instance, delivered an eye-watering hit of 4.2m at 42.43g/t gold from 289.63m depth, which included a blistering 1.37m interval grading 126.93g/t gold.
The latest permit milestone has placed Maritana firmly on the path to producer status at a time when the WA gold sector is firing on all cylinders. In May this year, the Western Australian Government reported that gold sales had hit a record A$36 billion. The figure was part of the state's performance update for the 2025 calendar year (CY25). Driven by skyrocketing global gold prices, WA's gold production climbed to an estimated 6.8 million ounces or almost 212 tonnes of gold, establishing gold as Western Australia’s second most valuable commodity behind iron ore.
Most importantly, the company is swimming in cash to fund its immediate and medium-term ambitions. Following a successful capital raise earlier in the year, Maritana was sitting on a formidable war chest of A$229 million at the end of June, more than enough to turn its production vision into a reality.
All permits are now in the bag, backed by a hefty bank balance, a giant resource, solid starting ore reserves and a clear line of sight to production. Maritana has neatly worked through the critical items on its immediate to-do list, clearing the runway for drills, cranes, earthmoving gear and construction crews to descend on Black Swan and bring its Kalgoorlie gold hub to life.
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By Doug Bright
