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A golden quarter for Barton with Tunkillia upgrade, gold reclaimed and raising oversubscribed

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By Robin Bromby - 
Barton Gold ASX BGD Central Gawler Mill replacement cost South Australia
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Barton Gold (ASX: BGD) has come a long way since listing on the ASX two years ago. 

In its latest quarterly report, the company says it has outperformed the initial public offering budget with cash reserves more than $5 million higher than forecast.

In the three months to June 30, Barton Gold made significant progress with two of its projects in South Australia: it has lifted the mineral resource estimate at Tunkillia and progressed the mothballed Central Gawler mill towards recommissioning.

The company has so far earned an unexpected $3.4 million in gold by cleaning up the old mill.

‘Transformational’ year

Managing director Alex Scanlon said the June quarter had set the tone for the rest of the year with a 189,000oz resource upgrade and a successful institutional placement. 

“2023 is set to be a transformational year for Barton,” he added.

The company’s financial performance was down to optimised exploration and asset monetisation. 

“This performance is driving international awareness of Barton’s strategy — an expanding shareholder register and increasing corporate momentum,” Mt Scanlon said. 

Three months of progress

At its 100%-owned Tunkillia project, Area 51 mineralisation was extended to a 700m strike length. 

At the 223 deposit, the resource was lifted to 1.15 million ounces an 0.94 grams per tonne gold. 

Tunkillia lies 70km south of Barton’s Tarcoola project which includes what was at one stage South Australia’s leading gold producer.

Outside the 223 deposit, which is 2km long, there has been little exploration at Tunkillia for about 20 years.

As for the Central Gawler mill, 1,190oz was swept out of various parts of the plant during the June quarter — and there is a third and final parcel of material still being analysed for its gold content.

An independent valuation has shown that, if Barton had to build a new mill, it would have cost about $100 million. 

During the quarter, Barton sought to get away a $3 million placement but ended up accepting oversubscriptions for a total of $3.5 million. 

Last week the company reported that its share purchase plan of $1 million was also oversubscribed with $1.223 million being accepted.