Ora Banda Mining has doubled down on its organic growth playbook, with the board signing off on $63 million in key investments to crank up capacity across processing, mining and camp infrastructure at its fully-owned Davyhurst project in WA's goldfields.
The centrepiece is a $10 million commitment to advance the proposed three million tonne per year (Mtpa) standalone processing plant from its definitive feasibility study (DFS) towards front-end engineering design (FEED).
The company expects to complete plant construction early in the June quarter, while it sharpens final design specs and capex requirements for a new mill to sit alongside the existing 1.2Mtpa Davyhurst processing facility.
The new plant is a clear nod to unlocking the milling bottleneck as underground production ramps up.
The next box to be ticked is a $30 million injection of capital to kick off open-pit mining at Waihi, just three kilometres from the Davyhurst plant.
The development will bring Waihi into the fold as the company's third mining operation, feeding ore to the existing mill while using its modest open pit mine as a platform for possible underground mine portals if deeper drilling continues to deliver.
Waihi’s Golden Pole lode has revealed a string of outstanding results, including the latest results two weeks ago, which included a best intercept of 7m assaying 27.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, including 2m going 87.5g/t gold.
Key metrics for the Waihi development include a 7.4:1 life-of-mine strip ratio for about 235,000 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.7g/t gold, for 12,700 ounces of gold produced over eight months.
The company expects to start mining in the March quarter, with milling continuing into FY27, backed by a $16m spend for open pit infrastructure and $14m for waste stripping.
Ora Banda says a resource update on Waihi is planned for the June quarter and will incorporate the more recent drilling hits.
To support the necessary workforce as the project scales up, $23 million - part of $34m in total – is being directed towards camp upgrades that will include a new 150-room village at Siberia and an extra 100 rooms at Davyhurst, lifting total accommodation capacity to 400 rooms.
All the green-lit expenditure has been fully funded from the company’s hefty cash reserves of A$155m as at the end of December last year and ongoing strong cashflows.
The new expenditure lifts FY26 growth capital guidance to $143 million – an increase of $57 million, with exploration and resource development holding steady at $73 million.
Ora Banda is playing a savvy long game by leveraging existing infrastructure, chasing organic upside and positioning for bigger production runs without overextending.
In a sector where execution counts, this commitment looks like a solid step towards turning Davyhurst into a genuine multi-mine, multi-million-ounce story.
With today’s Aussie gold price at $7845 (US$5559) per ounce, the metal is still showing it has serious legs - and Ora Banda looks geared to run with it.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Doug Bright
