S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock Catalyst Metals Ltd (ASX: CYL) is marching higher today.
Catalyst Metals shares closed yesterday trading for $6.10. In early morning trade on Tuesday, shares are changing hands for $6.32 apiece, up 3.6%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.1% at this same time.
Among the tailwinds helping lift the miner today is the overnight uptick in the gold price. Currently trading for US$4,191 per ounce, the gold price is up 1.2% since this time yesterday (according to data from Bloomberg).
Here's what else is grabbing investor interest.
Image source: Getty Images
ASX 200 gold stock gains on resource boost
Catalyst Metals shares are marching higher after the miner released an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Trident underground gold deposit, located in Western Australia.
The ASX 200 gold stock is currently developing the Trident mine, where it recently completed an open pit to enable development of an underground portal.
Catalyst's Trident underground will be the fourth mine to be developed on the Plutonic Belt. The other three are Plutonic East, Trident open pit, and K2.
When Catalyst acquired Trident in 2023 to complete a consolidation of the Plutonic Gold Belt, the project had a resource of 524,000 ounces at 3.6 grams of gold per tonne.
The miner noted that the resource now stands at 1.1 million ounces at 5.4g/t Au.
Promisingly, Catalyst said that the more tightly drilled indicated resources have increased by 20% from prior estimates to 633,000 ounces at 6.3g/t Au. The company expects this will underpin a roughly 10-year mine plan at an average run-rate of some 60,000 ounces per year.
The ASX 200 gold stock highlighted that Trident remains the second-largest deposit on the Plutonic Belt. The project is expected to form a second, higher grade base load ore source for the central Plutonic processing plant.
That's all part of Catalyst's plan to increase its annual gold production from 100,000 ounces to 200,000 ounces.
What did Catalyst Metals management say?
Commenting on the updated MRE that is helping lift the ASX 200 gold stock in early trade today, Catalyst Metals managing director & CEO James Champion de Crespigny said, "Our exploration team continues to have success across the belt, meaningfully growing Trident, Plutonic Main, Cinnamon, K2 and Old Highway. "
Champion de Crespigny added:
This 145% increase in Trident's indicated resources, and achievement of this 1-million-ounce milestone, is a testament to their persistence.
A key focus now is on developing the Trident orebody. With the open pit completed, the successful development of the underground, and path to around 200,000 ounces, is becoming ever more likely.
Catalyst expects the first stoping ore from the underground mine in the first half of calendar year 2027.
