Navigator Resources goes from explorer to producer

Navigator Resources goes from explorer to producer

We couldn’t have arranged to speak with Navigator Resources, an emerging explorer-turned-producer from West Perth, Western Australia, at a more opportune time. As the company is set to make a string of exciting announcements on the Australian Securities Exchange, where it is listed under NAV, IRJ spoke with David Hatch, Managing Director, about how the company has gotten to this pivotal juncture, what’s next at Navigator Resources and the company’s continued journey from explorer to producer, becoming a highly regarded and profitable gold miner with a stellar suite of cornerstone assets.

Creating Navigator

Hatch says that when Navigator listed in 2003, it did so with a group of tenements in the Kimberley region of Western Australia including the Cummins Range Rare Earth Project, still evident in the company portfolio today.

“That was an initial listing asset of the company,” Hatch explains.

“Subsequently in September 2004, Navigator acquired what we call the Leonora Gold Project. It was acquired from Sons of Gwalia.”

Leonora stood at around 200,000 ounces back then, and during the next four years, investing roughly AU$15 million in drilling on the project, Navigator was able to increase this resource base to 750,000 ounces; the current total resource of Leonora today.

“In early 2009, the company made the decision and successfully tendered to acquire the Bronzewing Gold Project and we literally completed that acquisition on the 30th of September 2009, subsequent to which we completed our equity raising process in the middle of December last year,” Hatch says.

“Since I joined the company in May last year our main focus has been on the acquisition of Bronzewing, together with the funding associated with getting Bronzewing back into production. That was our focus for last year and since the beginning of 2010 our focus has shifted to moving Bronzewing back into production which is very imminent as we speak.”

Bronzewing, situated in the highly prospective Yandal Greenstone Belt in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, and Leonora, are Navigator’s core assets today. In fact, speaking of opportune times to catch up with Navigator, both gold projects are delivering very exciting results as this issue of IRJ goes to press.

Bronzewing and Leonora today

Hatch says that there has been no drilling at Leonora since late 2008, but there was a Pre-Feasibility Study done and completed in March 2009.

“Since then we’ve pursued the path of a trial mining exercise at Leonora and we’re actually doing that right now,” he continues.

“We were intending to treat 75,000 tonnes of ore from the Leonora project through a third-party processing plant which is currently underutilised. Clearly, we want Leonora to become our second producing gold mine and that’s where we’re trying to take this.”

Second that is, to Bronzewing; the project taking Navigator from explorer to producer.

“As soon as we get that to full production it will produce at a rate of approximately 100,000 ounces per annum. That’s a milestone to look forward to,” Hatch says.

The milestone of the first gold pour is just days away, as on March 30, 2010, Navigator announced that it has begun crushing the low grade commissioning ore at Bronzewing and commissioning of the sag mill occurred on April 9.

“We’re enjoying being able to finally produce after a time-consuming equity raising process last year.”

Progress continues at Leonora too, where on March 31, just one day after the Bronzewing crushing announcement, Navigator told the ASX that it had begun mining its first ore at Leonora; the first of what will surely be many more exciting announcements to come on this second flagship project.  

Bronzewing and Leonora: Up to the minute

As IRJ goes to press, Hatch says that Navigator plans to use the June quarter as a ramp up quarter over at Bronzewing.

“Whilst production is imminent, the rate at which we will produce gold in this June quarter will be a little bit less than the full annualised rate because it’s a ramp up quarter,” he says.

“Our intention is that by July we’ll be producing at full capacity and the full annualised production rate.”

And the build up to the mid-months of 2010 look set to grow busier still, as Navigator is scheduled to treat the first parcel of trial mining ore from Leonora in April.

“We are hopeful that by the end of the month we can communicate to the market the results of that part of that trial,” Hatch says.

“The trial will run right through until the end of June so the final results from the trial mining at Leonora will be released in July.”

At Navigator Resources, the flurry of recent announcements, results and promising ongoing progress really speaks volumes. The company story tells itself, and promises a very exciting outcome for all concerned.

www.navigatorresources.com.au

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