Barton Gold Ltd (ASX: BGD) shares hit a fresh record on Monday after the company announced it had started a definitive feasibility study for its Challenger gold project in South Australia.
The $290 million company is working on three gold projects in South Australia, including at the former Tunkillia and Challenger gold mines.
The company said on Monday it had started a definitive feasibility study (DFS) targeting "stage 1" production at the Challenger Gold Project, using its fully-permitted Central Gawler gold processing plant.
The company said it had recently upgraded the mineral resource estimate at Challenger to 313,000 ounces of gold.
Barton Gold is aiming to finish the DFS in March 2026 and commission the processing plant by the end of that year.
Consultants working on the DFS would start site visits this week, the company said.
Image source: Getty Images
Time is right to come into production
Barton Gold Managing Director Alexander Scanlon said it was a good time to be looking to come into production.
With gold prices at all-time highs and over 300,000 ounces of gold JORC Resources adjacent to the Central Gawler Mill, the opportunity to leverage our existing infrastructure to operations and cash flow has never been more attractive. We are wasting no time pursuing this opportunity, targeting a low-cost and low-risk transition to operations by the end of 2026, the re-rating of Barton's equity to a 'producer' profile, and operating free cash flows to fund our planned regional growth at Tunkillia. We look forward to sharing regular updates during an exciting 18 months ahead.
The company has a mineral resource estimate of 1.5 million ounces of gold at the Tunkillia project, and says the area "holds significant potential for large-scale extensions and discovery of new mineralisation''.
Shares looking solid
Barton Gold shares hit a 12-month high of $1.39 on the news on Monday, before settling back to be 1.1% higher at $1.32.
The stock has increased from just 22 cents over the past year, delivering better than 500% gains for shareholders.
Both the Challenger project and Tunkillia have previously been mined by other companies.
The company said on Monday that both the Challenger mine and the processing plant were fully permitted "with normal operations last occurring during mid-2018 before the site and Central Gawler Mill were placed on care and maintenance''.
All Challenger mineralisation is adjacent to the Central Gawler Mill with additional lower-grade stockpiles and higher-grade mill residuals located on the run of mine pad.
