REZ clears path for full scale gold production at Maranoa

Resources & Energy Group has won the green light to ramp up operations at its Maranoa deposit in the East Menzies Gold Project, with regulators approving a transition from a modest trial to full scale vat leach production.

The Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration has signed off on amendments to the mining proposal, allowing the company to construct eight new vat leach cells. Each cell has a capacity of about 5,000 tonnes, giving a total processing ability of roughly 40,000 tonnes of ore at any one time.

The approval follows a 5,000 tonne trial program, designed to test the economics of the vat leach method. With positive results in hand, REZ is now preparing for a commercial scale rollout that is expected to deliver a material lift in gold output.

Managing director Daniel Moore called the approval a pivotal milestone. “By scaling up from trial operations to a commercial program, we can establish near term gold production and create a self funding platform for growth. Ultimately, cash flow from production will directly support resource drilling, exploration, and further development across the entire East Menzies gold project,” he said.

Vat leaching is a tried and tested method of gold recovery that involves percolating cyanide solution through crushed ore. While not as fast as other processes, it is cost effective and well suited to deposits like Maranoa. The economics improve significantly at scale, hence the importance of today’s decision.

Once expanded operations are underway, REZ expects cash flow from gold production to fund further exploration across its extensive Menzies tenements. This includes testing additional high grade targets and updating resource models.

The East Menzies project is one of Western Australia’s most historic goldfields, with a legacy of small mines and shallow workings. REZ is betting that modern extraction methods and scale will unlock fresh value from ground that has seen more than a century of attention.

For investors, the approval signals a clear shift from exploration narrative to production story. If the expanded program delivers as planned, REZ will join the ranks of junior producers with the all important cash flow to back exploration ambitions.

In the often uncertain world of gold exploration, that is a step change worth noting.