S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) gold stock Black Cat Syndicate Ltd (ASX: BC8) is leaping higher today.
Black Cat shares closed on Friday trading for $1.405. In early morning trade on Monday, shares are changing hands for $1.475 apiece, up 5%.
For some context, the ASX 300 is up 0.2% at this same time.
With today's moves factored in, the Black Cat share price is now up 97.3% since this time last year, racing ahead of the 6.20% returns delivered by the benchmark index over this same period.
Now, here's what's grabbing investor interest today.
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ASX 300 gold stock lifts off on drilling update
The Black Cat share price is jumping higher after the company released an exploration update from its Kal East Gold Operation, located in Western Australia.
The ASX 300 gold stock highlighted that the large Fingals open pit – one of the long-term feed sources for Kal East – remains open in all directions and at depth. Management said that the mine life at Fingals is "only constrained by drilling".
A recent grade control program, involving 167 holes for 8,960 metres, identified multiple high-grade zones at Fingals outside the existing resource but within the open pit.
The miner noted that Fingals currently has a probable open-pit ore reserve of 2,039kt at 1.7g/t Au for 113koz of gold.
Black Cat has already outlined plans for an initial underground operation after completion of the open-pit mining. With mining at Fingals accelerating, the Aussie gold miner expects the first ore to be fed into the Lakewood processing facility in March.
Atop the progress at Fingals, the ASX 300 gold stock also reported that mining at its Majestic underground project is "progressing well", noting that first ore drives have been accessed and are in development.
Black Cat plans to commence grade control and extensional drilling at Majestic during the March quarter.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results helping boost the ASX 300 gold stock today, Black Cat managing director Gareth Solly said, "These Fingals drilling results emphasise the long-term potential of both the open pit and future underground mine."
Solly added, "The high-grade results have already identified bonus ounces within the planned open pit with the potential for additional mineralisation from follow up drilling."
Looking ahead, Solly said:
Mining activities at Fingals and Majestic are progressing well with the operations on track to provide all Ore to Lakewood from late March 2026 onwards. The study to expand Lakewood from 1.2mtpa to 1.5mtpa is also progressing to plan, as part of our more gold sooner strategy.
Importantly, these developments and expansions will continue to be funded entirely from operating cashflow, highlighting the strength of Black Cat's operations and balance sheet.
