S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) is charging higher today.
Vault Minerals shares closed yesterday trading for $4.22. In late morning trade on Friday, shares are swapping hands for $4.48 apiece, up 6%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.7% at this same time.
With today's intraday gains factored in, the Vault Minerals share price is up 70.3% over the past 12 months, giving the miner a market cap of around $4.6 billion.
Vault Minerals will be catching some broader tailwinds today following an overnight uptick in the gold price. The yellow metal is currently trading for US$4,135 per ounce, according to data from Bloomberg.
That sees the gold price up 2.6% since Wednesday, and it also sees the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) up 3.7% today.
Here's why the Vault Minerals share price is outpacing those gains.
Image source: Getty Images
ASX 200 gold stock jumps on production increase
Investors are bidding up Vault Minerals shares following the release of the gold miner's preliminary fourth-quarter (Q4 FY 2026) update.
Among the highlights, the ASX 200 gold stock reported Q4 gold production of 89,338 ounces. That meets the company's guidance and represents a 14% increase in gold production from the prior quarter.
Q4 gold sales came in at 87,922 ounces, helping deliver quarterly underlying free cash flow of $219 million.
Looking at the full (unaudited) FY 2026 year, Vault reported gold production of 336,540 ounces. FY 2026 gold sales came in at 334,901 ounces.
Turning to the balance sheet, the ASX 200 gold stock held cash and bullion of $842 million at the financial year end. Vault Minerals has no debt and remains fully unhedged, giving the miner full exposure to any further rises, or falls, in the gold price.
FY 2026 also saw Vault pay its first-ever dividend. If you owned shares in the gold miner at market close on 9 March, you would have received the unfranked 7 cents per share interim dividend on 8 April.
Atop with Vault's share buyback, management noted, this has seen the company return $74.3 million to shareholders over the financial year just past.
What else is happening with Vault Minerals?
The ASX 200 gold stock also highlighted the ongoing processing upgrades underway at its flagship King of the Hills (KoTH) mine, located in Western Australia.
Management noted:
Stage 1 was commissioned on schedule and within budget in March 2026, with the new crushing circuit consistently exceeding its 8Mtpa run rate. Stage 2 is 71% complete, remains on budget, and is tracking ahead of schedule for completion in September 2026.
The upgrade will increase KoTH processing capacity by 50%, further strengthening its position as the leading regional processing facility.
