Key Highlights

  • Cash rose to A$43.0 million at 30 September 2026 from A$22.2 million at 30 June, mainly from receipts under the Ore Purchase Agreement with Gold Fields' subsidiary.
  • Mining at Lady Herial finished in early August 2026 and no further mining revenue is forecast; across the pit 14,910 ounces were sold.
  • The FY2027 exploration budget is A$13 million, with year-to-date drilling of 9,900 metres against a financial-year plan of 43,400 metres.

Cash position after mining ends

Lunnon Metals (ASX:LM8) reported on 28 October 2026 that cash stood at A$43.0 million at the end of the September quarter, up from A$22.2 million at 30 June. Receipts from customers were A$35.1 million, GST inclusive and unaudited, mainly under the Ore Purchase Agreement with SIGM, a subsidiary of Gold Fields. Direct production payments were about A$7.6 million and exploration and evaluation payments were A$2.7 million. Related-party payments totalled A$198,000.

Mining at the Lady Herial open pit finished in early August 2026, and the company said no further mining revenue is forecast.

Lady Herial: final deliveries and reconciliation

Deliveries to Gold Fields in the quarter were 96,556 tonnes at 1.88 grams per tonne gold, containing 5,821 ounces. Across the whole open pit, 303,437 tonnes were mined at 1.68 g/t gold and 14,910 ounces were sold at a metallurgical recovery of 91 per cent.

Lunnon compared outcomes with its January 2026 Feasibility Study. Tonnes were 13.1 per cent higher and grade 11.1 per cent lower than forecast, and ounces were 100.7 per cent of the study figure. Operating costs were 5.1 per cent higher. Pre-tax free cash flow was A$55.7 million on a 100 per cent basis against a forecast of A$57.7 million, and A$39.0 million for Lunnon's 70 per cent share against A$40.4 million. Because the Lady Herial Ore Reserve is fully depleted, the company reports no gold Ore Reserves.

Exploration programme

The company has a FY2027 exploration budget of A$13 million. In the quarter it drilled 106 reverse circulation holes for 7,537 metres and 12 diamond holes for 2,349 metres, with no aircore drilling. Year-to-date drilling of 9,900 metres compares with a plan of 43,400 metres for the financial year.

Lunnon reported an Exploration Target for the Foster-Baker project of 25 to 30 million tonnes for 1.2 to 2.4 million ounces of gold to a depth of 400 metres. It stressed that the target is conceptual and there is no certainty further exploration will lead to a Mineral Resource. A Mineral Resource for Hustler, announced in July 2026, stands at 826,000 tonnes at 1.4 g/t gold for 36,200 ounces. Reported drilling results included 22.0 metres at 3.31 g/t gold from 5 metres at Koombana, 12.0 metres at 1.42 g/t from 76 metres at Plentiful, and 17.86 metres at 0.61 g/t in the prioritised zone at Benmore. Scoping study updates for the Lady Herial cut-back and for Hustler are deferred until their resource models are updated.

Nickel and the Gold Fields link

The Baker nickel deposit has a Mineral Resource of 1.03 million tonnes at 3.3 per cent nickel, containing 33,700 tonnes of nickel metal above a 1.0 per cent cut-off. There was no on-ground nickel activity in the quarter. The company noted that BHP has agreed to sell the Kambalda Nickel Concentrator to Gold Fields, which is Lunnon's largest shareholder with 29.61 per cent of voting power. Settlement is expected in calendar 2027 and is subject to conditions including regulatory approvals.

Other matters

The report also records that the company's cash balance more than doubled over the quarter, from A$22.2 million to A$43.0 million, while the Lady Herial reserve has been fully depleted.

Lunnon had 227,416,106 shares on issue. Ngadju royalty payments continued, and the company disclosed a lost time injury during exploration activities in the quarter.

What to watch

With mining complete, the cash balance and the A$13 million exploration budget now define the near-term picture for the company's Western Australian projects. The company said further resource model updates will precede the deferred scoping studies, and drilling is running behind the full-year plan on the numbers reported to date. Exploration results and targets are not Mineral Resources, and any development decision would depend on future work, studies and approvals that the quarterly report does not confirm.