Highlights

  • Apollo Hill hosts a Mineral Resource of 174Mt at 0.51g/t gold for 2.83Moz, with 77% of contained gold classified as Measured or Indicated.
  • The project has a Maiden Ore Reserve of 104.6Mt at 0.47g/t gold for approximately 1.59Moz.
  • Saturn raised AUD 100 million through a July 2026 Placement and subsequently upsized its Share Purchase Plan to approximately AUD 21.3 million after strong Shareholder demand.
  • The PFS outlines a 10Mtpa heap-leach operation targeting steady-state production of approximately 106kozpa and a 14-year project life.

Saturn Metals Limited (ASX:STN) is advancing the Apollo Hill Gold Project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, where a larger Mineral Resource, completed Pre-Feasibility Study and recent Capital raisings have moved the project deeper into the development phase.

Apollo Hill lies approximately 50 kilometres southeast of Leonora and sits within a broader land package of more than 1,000 square kilometres. The project is being assessed as a large-scale, low-strip open-pit operation using conventional heap-leach processing.

The company’s latest substantive update came on 28 August 2026, when Saturn confirmed that shareholder Demand had allowed it to increase its Share Purchase Plan to approximately AUD 21.3 million. This followed a AUD 100 million placement announced in July, significantly increasing the funding available for the Definitive Feasibility Study, drilling and development work.

Resource Growth

Apollo Hill’s June 2026 Mineral Resource Estimate materially increased the scale of the project.

The resource now stands at 174Mt grading 0.51g/t gold for approximately 2.83Moz.

This represented an increase of around 590koz compared with the previous estimate.

Importantly, approximately 2.19Moz, or 77% of contained gold, sits in the Measured and Indicated categories.

The higher-confidence resource base provides a stronger foundation for mine planning and future reserve conversion.

Apollo Hill remains open in several areas, while Saturn also controls a large surrounding exploration position containing multiple prospects.

Further drilling therefore has the potential to extend both the current resource and the wider district-scale gold system.

Reserve Base

The existing Maiden Ore Reserve was released with the December 2025 PFS.

It totals 104.6Mt grading 0.47g/t gold for approximately 1.586Moz.

The reserve represented an 86% conversion of eligible Measured and Indicated ounces available at the time of the study.

The associated production target totals 117.4Mt at 0.47g/t gold for approximately 1.77Moz.

Around 89% of the production target is based on Proven and Probable Ore Reserves, with the balance sourced from a mining-factor-modified portion of the Inferred Resource.

This provides a relatively high level of geological confidence in the initial mine plan compared with projects that rely heavily on lower-confidence material.

PFS Economics

The PFS outlines a large-scale open-pit and heap-leach operation.

The base case assumes a 10Mtpa processing rate and a 14-year life, including a final two-year leach-pad drain-down period.

Steady-state gold production is estimated at approximately 106kozpa across the first 12 years.

Using a base-case gold price of AUD 4,300/oz, the study generated a pre-tax NPV8 of AUD 973 million and an internal rate of return of 51%.

Pre-production capital was estimated at AUD 472.4 million.

This included approximately AUD 408 million for the heap-leach processing Facility and associated infrastructure, AUD 37.5 million for mining-area preparation and around AUD 26.7 million for other pre-production requirements.

The project’s All-In Sustaining Cost was estimated at AUD 2,464/oz.

Heap Leach Model

Heap leaching is central to Apollo Hill’s development strategy.

The process involves crushing and agglomerating ore before placing it on large leach pads where gold is recovered over time.

Saturn’s PFS assumes on-pad gold recoveries of approximately 73.7% and a leach cycle of around 160 days.

Heap-leach operations can process large volumes of lower-grade material with lower capital intensity than conventional milling in some geological settings.

Apollo Hill’s low average waste-to-ore ratio of approximately 2.4:1 also supports the bulk-mining concept.

However, commercial performance will depend on recovery consistency, stacking rates, solution management and operating discipline.

These areas will be examined in more detail through the DFS.

Funding Position

Funding risk has reduced materially during 2026.

In July, Saturn announced a strongly supported AUD 100 million placement to accelerate Apollo Hill development.

The company followed this with a Share Purchase Plan initially targeting a smaller amount.

Shareholder demand significantly exceeded the original target, and on 28 August Saturn confirmed that applications totalled approximately AUD 21.28 million.

The company elected to accept the full amount.

Together, the placement and SPP represent approximately AUD 121 million of fresh capital.

This provides Saturn with funding to progress the DFS, resource drilling, environmental work, permitting and early development activities without an immediate requirement for further equity.

Mining Lease

Another important development occurred in July 2026 when Saturn secured a key Mining Lease covering Apollo Hill.

The grant reduces tenure risk and represents an important regulatory step toward eventual project construction.

Saturn had previously completed a Native Title Mining Agreement covering the project area.

These approvals do not mean Apollo Hill is ready for construction, but they provide a clearer framework for the remaining environmental, technical and financing work.

The DFS is expected to incorporate the larger June 2026 resource, meaning the final development case could differ from the 2025 PFS.

Exploration Upside

Saturn is continuing exploration alongside development studies.

The broader Apollo Hill land package extends across approximately 60 kilometres of prospective greenstone belt.

The company has identified numerous regional prospects, including Aquarius, while drilling around Apollo Hill continues to test extensions to the known system.

Recent work has also focused on the Titan Lode, where drilling has returned additional mineralised intersections supporting further resource-growth potential.

For investors, this exploration pipeline provides optionality beyond the current PFS mine plan.

A larger resource could support mine-life extensions or changes to the future production profile, although any additional ounces would need technical studies before being incorporated into reserves.

Development Focus

The next major technical milestone is completion of the Apollo Hill Definitive Feasibility Study.

The DFS will refine capital estimates, mining schedules, metallurgical assumptions, infrastructure design and project economics.

Saturn will also need to complete the remaining approvals, secure final project financing and make a formal Investment decision before construction can begin.

The strengthened Balance Sheet allows the company to progress these workstreams from a more stable funding position.

Final Takeaway

Saturn Metals has significantly strengthened the development case for Apollo Hill during 2026.

The project now hosts 2.83Moz of gold, with 77% classified as Measured or Indicated, while the existing Ore Reserve contains approximately 1.59Moz.

The PFS outlines a 10Mtpa heap-leach operation producing around 106kozpa at steady state with a 14-year project life.

The latest 28 August 2026 update adds another important element, with Saturn accepting approximately AUD 21.3 million through its upsized SPP after previously securing AUD 100 million through a placement.

For Saturn Metals (ASX:STN), attention now turns to the DFS, further resource growth, final approvals and project financing.

The combination of a larger resource, substantial reserve base and stronger funding position gives Apollo Hill a clearer pathway toward potential development, although execution through the remaining feasibility and permitting stages will remain critical.