Precious metals miner Ramelius Resources has refined its full-year production guidance buoyed by a strong March quarter marked by standout performances at its Mt Magnet and Cue operations.

The Perth-based gold producer reported group gold production of 80 455 oz in the March quarter at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of A$1 492/oz. Production was led by the Mt Magnet hub, which delivered 67 464 oz at an AISC of A$1 226/oz. The Edna May hub contributed 12 991 oz at a significantly higher AISC of A$2 802/oz before being placed into care and maintenance in mid-April.

Ramelius upgraded its full-year production guidance to between 290 000 oz and 300 000 oz, from a previous range of 270 000 to 300 000 oz, and narrowed its AISC forecast to a range of A$1 550/oz to A$1 650/oz.

“The March 2025 quarter has delivered our second consecutive quarter of record underlying free cash flow, with A$223-million generated in the period and A$487-million year-to-date,” said MD Mark Zeptner. “Cue was the star performer in the quarter generating A$120-million in free cash flow alone with Penny continuing to impress generating A$35-million.”

Zeptner highlighted that reconciliations against the initial geological model for Cue showed production of 13 710 oz, or 31% more than originally estimated. 

“As a result of excellent year-to-date performance, full-year guidance has been refined, resulting in full-year guidance at the higher end of the production range, while AISC has been tightened within the original range,” he said.

Ramelius ended the quarter with cash and gold of A$657.1-million, up from A$501.7-million in the December quarter, underpinned by A$236.8-million in operating cash flow and sector-leading underlying free cash flow of A$223-million.

Despite its high cost profile in the quarter, Edna May contributed A$30-million in operating cash flow before transitioning to care and maintenance. Zeptner reaffirmed the company’s confidence in the Mt Magnet portfolio, citing promising extensional drilling results at Penny North, Cue, Hesperus, and Saturn East (Galaxy).

“Our efforts to ramp up exploration are already starting to pay off . . . further demonstrating that our most important, high-grade deposits within the Mt Magnet portfolio still have significant exploration upside,” Zeptner said.

Growth capital expenditure for the March quarter was A$7.5-million, focused on the development of the White Heat openpit at Cue. Exploration and resource definition spending totalled A$10.5-million, targeting areas including Eridanus and Penny.

Zeptner also confirmed that the proposed acquisition of Spartan Resources was progressing according to plan. “Feedback on the proposed combination from shareholders continues to be overwhelmingly positive,” he added.

The combination of Ramelius and Spartan will create a leading Australian gold producer with a combined mineral resource estimate of 12.1-million ounces of gold and an ore reserve of 2.6-million ounces. The companies have complementary and proximate assets, with significant work already undertaken to optimise the synergies between Mt Magnet and Dalgaranga.

The combined group would have a production profile of about 500 000 oz/y by 2030.

The proposed implementation date of the scheme with Spartan is late July or early August.