S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) is sliding today.
Vault Minerals shares closed yesterday trading for $4.02. In late morning trade on Thursday, shares are changing hands for $3.98 apiece, down 1.1%. This sees the miner commanding a market cap of $4.1 billion.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.2% at this same time, while the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is down 1.5%.
The Aussie gold miners are broadly underperforming today following another overnight dip in the gold price. Gold is currently trading for US$4,497 per ounce, according to data from Bloomberg. That's down from US$5,322 per ounce at the beginning of March.
Still, you're unlikely to hear investors who bought the ASX 200 gold stock at the recent closing lows of $2.40 on 1 August complaining. Vault Minerals shares remain up 65.8% since then.
Now, here's what's happening today.
Image source: Getty Images
ASX 200 gold stock boosting capacity
Vault Minerals shares are sliding today despite the miner announcing positive progress at its King of the Hills plant upgrade.
The ASX 200 gold stock is working to increase King of the Hills' throughput capacity to some 6.0 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). The plant upgrade will increase throughput capacity by around 50% at a capital intensity of $57 per tonne of increased annual throughput capacity.
The miner said that the first state of the plant upgrade project has progressed on time and within budget, and it is now in the final stages of commissioning.
With the new primary crusher installation completed, management expects first ore to be fed into it next Tuesday, 31 March. As the old crusher was taken offline this past Tuesday, Vault has around 90,000 tonnes of crushed stocks on the ground. The miner expects this to provide uninterrupted mill feed prior to crusher ore commissioning.
As at 28 February 2026 Vault reported stockpiles of 15 million tonnes at King of the Hills, containing around 180,000 ounces of gold. The stockpiles are located nearby the processing facility.
The ASX 200 gold stock noted that this provides it with "significant operational flexibility to maintain base load mill feed under a range of operating scenarios, which may be required to be implemented to mitigate the risk of supply disruptions of key operational inputs due to the current tensions in the Middle East".
Looking ahead, Vault Minerals said that the second stage of the King of the Hills plant upgrade is also still on schedule and budget. The miner is targeting completion of stage two in the second quarter of FY 2027. That will deliver increased plant capacity of 7.5 to 8.0 Mtpa.
