Austral Gold Announces Updated Guanaco Technical Report

JCN株式会社 2026/07/23 09:45

HIGHLIGHTS

14-year mine life and US$192.1 million after-tax NPV (10% discount rate): New NI 43-101 Technical Report, prepared by the Company's Qualified Persons, establishing a life-of-mine plan for Guanaco (Chile) from January 2026 to February 2040, built on existing mining and processing infrastructure.
Mineral Reserves: Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 18.1 Mt grading 0.84 g/t Au and 5.43 g/t Ag, containing approximately 352 Koz Au and 1.493 Moz Ag (estimated at US$2,200/oz Au and US$25/oz Ag).
Measured & Indicated Resources: 17.0 Mt grading 0.94 g/t Au and 6.11 g/t Ag containing approximately 511 Koz Au and 3.269 Moz Ag (estimated at US$2,500/oz Au and US$27.5/oz Ag).
Inferred Resources: 2.0 Mt grading 1.17 g/t Au and 7.14 g/t Ag, containing approximately 77 Koz Au and 466 Koz Ag.
Metallurgical recoveries: Average Life of Mine (LOM) recovery of 72% for gold and 47% for silver. The LOM average is materially influenced by heap-reprocessing material; higher-grade feed achieves higher recoveries.
Metal prices (economic analysis): LOM average prices of US$3,135/oz gold and US$42/oz silver, used in the discounted cash-flow (DCF) model and based on the median of independent third-party consensus forecasts. Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves are estimated at the lower prices noted above.
Costs & Capital: All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) of US$2,114/oz AuEq and Operating Cost (C1) of US$1,978/oz AuEq. LOM capital expenditure of US$13.9 million (US$2.2 million sustaining, US$11.7 million closure and reclamation).

*See tables below for assumptions used in the estimates
**Only Measured and Indicated mineral resources are used in calculating the NPV

Sydney, Australia--(ACN Newswire - July 22, 2026) - Austral Gold Limited (ASX: AGD) (TSXV: AGLD) (OTCQB: AGLDF) ("Austral" or the "Company"), an established gold producer with two 100% operating mine complexes in Argentina and Chile, is pleased to announce an updated Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimate and a new life-of-mine plan for its Guanaco Mine in the Antofagasta Region of Chile, reported in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 (CIM Definition Standards), as set out in a new Technical Report entitled "Technical Report on the Guanaco Mine, Antofagasta Region, Chile" with an effective date as of May 31, 2026 and a signature date as of July 21, 2026 (the "2026 Technical Report"). The Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves disclosed in this announcement are also reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition) and ASX Listing Rules. The new Technical Report updates and supersedes the Company's 2022 Technical Report announced on 29 March 2022.

Chief Executive Officer of Austral Gold, Stabro Kasaneva, commented, "We believe the significance of this Technical Report extends well beyond the updated Mineral Reserve. It supports the view that Guanaco can sustain a multi-year mining operation with an approximate mine plan of 14 years, built on existing infrastructure, a disciplined capital program, and a consistent production profile. What differentiates Austral Gold as a junior producer is that it can extend mine life while leveraging existing, permitted processing facilities and established operating infrastructure, although part of the expanded mine plan remains subject to outstanding permits. We anticipate this positions Austral Gold with a strong platform to generate sustainable value in the future from both Guanaco in Chile and Casposo in Argentina.

"We believe that one of Guanaco's key competitive advantages is that this approach reduces execution risk and capital intensity compared with a greenfield development, allowing the Company to focus capital on value-generating mining activities rather than on major infrastructure projects."

The 2026 Technical Report has been filed concurrently with this announcement on the ASX (www.asx.com) and SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

The Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves disclosed in this announcement are reported in accordance with the JORC Code (2012 Edition) and ASX Listing Rules.

Updated Geological Interpretation and Mineral Resource Basis

The Guanaco Mine comprises the following deposits: Dumbo, Defensa, Perseverancia, Quillota, Inesperada, and three legacy heap-leach pads (Heaps 1, 2, and 3) located on site.

The 2026 Technical Report follows a detailed review of the existing data for the Guanaco Mine and a new geological modelling of the deposits, characterising them by their geological features and grade distribution. This work established a robust geological basis for defining the remaining in-situ Mineral Resources. The Mineral Resource estimate is supported by dense 25 × 25 m drill spacing, which defines Indicated Mineral Resources with a reasonable level of geological confidence, consistent with industry best practices and with the requirement for reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction (RPEEE). Using this Mineral Resource base as the starting point, Mineral Reserves were estimated by applying metal prices, operating and capital costs, and mining and metallurgical parameters that have all been updated since the 2022 Technical Report.

Economic Analysis and Life-of-Mine Plan

The 2026 Technical Report presents an updated life-of-mine plan and cash-flow model for Guanaco Mine based on Mineral Reserves. Inferred Mineral Resources have been excluded from economic analysis.

In determining the Mineral Reserves, the Qualified Persons have considered and applied the relevant modifying factors, including mining, metallurgical, processing, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental considerations.

The key outputs are summarised below.

Metric	Result
After-tax NPV (10.0% discount rate)	US$192.1 M
Undiscounted pre-tax free cash flow	US$379.4 M
Undiscounted post-tax free cash flow	US$281.6 M
All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC)	US$2,114 / oz AuEq
Average operating cost (C1)	US$1,978 / oz AuEq
Average operating cost (per tonne)	US$41 / t processed
Total Processed Ore (Mt)	18.1
Mine life	~14 years
Avg. annual recovered gold	24,838 oz
Avg. annual recovered silver	105,262 oz
LOM capital expenditure	US$13.9 M
- Sustaining capital	US$2.2 M
- Closure & reclamation	US$11.7 M
Avg. metallurgical recovery - gold	72%
Avg. metallurgical recovery - silver	47%
Gold price assumption (LOM avg.)	US$3,135 / oz
Silver price assumption (LOM avg.)	US$42 / oz

Metal Price Assumptions: The life-of-mine economic model applies gold and silver prices based on the median of third-party consensus forecasts obtained from an internationally recognised market data provider. Over the mine life, gold prices range from a maximum of US$4,500/oz to a long-term minimum of US$2,500/oz, and silver prices from a maximum of US$70/oz to a long-term minimum of US$30/oz, equivalent to life-of-mine average prices of approximately US$3,135/oz gold and US$42/oz silver. These planning prices are used solely in the cash-flow model and differ from the lower prices used to estimate Mineral Reserves (US$2,200/oz gold and US$25/oz silver) and Mineral Resources (US$2,500/oz gold and US$27.5/oz silver).

Environmental, Permitting and Other Risk Factors: Other than the permitting matter described below, the Company is not aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, political, or other factors that could materially affect the Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve estimates or the potential development of the Guanaco project.

Completion of the Environmental Impact Declaration (Declaración de Impacto Ambiental, or "DIA") and associated sectoral permits for the Inesperada and Dumbo areas remains outstanding, with approval currently targeted for Q4 2026 / Q1 2027. Ore from these areas is included in the Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve and in the ~14-year life-of-mine production target: together they account for approximately 5.9 Mt, or about 32% of Reserve tonnes, some 185,000 recoverable ounces of gold (~53% of Reserve gold) and 823,000 recoverable ounces of silver (~55% of Reserve silver). Accordingly, a substantial portion of the Mineral Reserve and of forecast production is contingent on receipt of the DIA and associated permits. The Competent Person / Qualified Person considers there to be a reasonable basis to expect that the required approvals will be obtained; however, there is no certainty that they will be granted within the anticipated timeframe, or at all, and any delay or refusal could materially affect the production schedule and project economics.

Comparison with the 2022 Technical Report

The 2026 Technical Report updates and supersedes the Company's 2022 Technical Report (prepared by SLR and announced on 29 March 2022, effective date 31 December 2021), which covered the broader Guanaco-Amancaya Operation, including the Amancaya underground mine (since depleted). On this basis, the 2026 Technical Report reports an after-tax NPV of US$192.1 million (10% discount rate), compared with US$77 million (6.89%) in the 2022 study, and a life-of-mine of approximately 14 years (Jan 2026-Feb 2040), compared with approximately 12 years (2022-2033). The two studies differ in scope, effective date, metal-price assumptions, discount rate and mining method and, given intervening mining and depletion, together with a comprehensive re-modelling of the Guanaco deposits, are not directly comparable on a like-for-like basis.

The 2026 mine plan is based entirely on open-pit extraction (the Dumbo, Defensa, Perseverancia, Quillota and Inesperada pits, scheduled from mid-2028 to 2040) together with the reprocessing of the existing heap-leach pads (2026 to mid-2032). No underground mining is included in the 2026 Mineral Reserve or economic analysis.

The updated Technical Report establishes Guanaco as a long-life gold and silver operation which supports a multi-year cash flow from existing infrastructure while maintaining significant exploration upside across the district.

Guanaco Processing Facility

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