Key Highlights

  • Catalyst Metals (ASX:CYL) announced on 29 September 2026 a 2.0 million ounce Ore Reserve at 2.6g/t gold across the Plutonic Gold Belt in Western Australia.
  • The company says the Reserve provides inventory to support a 200,000 ounce per annum production rate for 10 years, compared with current production of about 100,000 ounces per annum at an AISC of about A$2,800 per ounce.
  • Cash and bullion was A$331 million with nil debt, and the company will decide in December 2026 whether to change its exploration activities and expenditure.

Catalyst Metals Limited (ASX:CYL) announced on 29 September 2026 the delineation of 2 million ounces of Ore Reserves across the Plutonic Gold Belt in Western Australia. The company links the Reserve to a plan to lift production from about 100,000 to 200,000 ounces per year.

This article describes the company, the sector context, the announcement and the factors that may influence the plan.

About Catalyst Metals

Catalyst Metals Limited is an ASX-listed gold producer whose flagship asset is the 40-kilometre-long Plutonic Gold Belt in Western Australia. The belt currently produces about 100,000 ounces per annum at an AISC of about A$2,800 per ounce from three mines at Plutonic Main, Plutonic East and Keillor. Catalyst is bringing three new mines into production: Trident Underground, Cinnamon and Old Highway, each to be processed through the existing 2 million tonne per annum CIL plant at Plutonic.

The company also controls a processing plant and more than 75 kilometres of strike length immediately north of the belt. The Mineral Resource is 5.1 million ounces at 3.2g/t gold, and the Ore Reserve is 2.0 million ounces at 2.6g/t gold. At 29 September 2026 the company had cash and bullion of A$331 million and no debt.

Sector backdrop

An Ore Reserve is the economically mineable part of a Measured or Indicated Mineral Resource, and a larger Reserve supports longer mine plans because it replaces lower-confidence resource material in later years. Producers often report reserve growth alongside the cost of finding ounces.

Underground gold mines with satellite deposits feeding a central plant need continuing drilling and development. Catalyst states that its objective is a 10-year mine life, which it describes as unusual for a Western Australian underground gold mine.

Gold producers report all-in sustaining cost (AISC) per ounce, which covers operating and sustaining capital costs.

Ore Reserve announcement released on 29 September 2026

The Reserve and plan

The 2.0 million ounce Ore Reserve at 2.6g/t forms the basis for a plan to produce 200,000 ounces per annum for 10 years. The company says the drivers are that it believed the belt's endowment could support such a Reserve and production profile, and that production at this scale is attractive in the gold industry. It states that over the last three years Reserves grew by 1.8 million ounces for about A$226 million, a cost of A$125 per ounce, and that more than half of the growth is attributable to higher-grade sources at Trident, Old Highway, Cinnamon and Keillor.

Resources across the belt rose from 4.1 million ounces to 5 million ounces over 12 months. Recent updates cited include Trident Reserves growth of 30% (14 September 2026), a Cinnamon resource increase of 370% with a maiden underground Reserve (21 September 2026) and a Keillor resource increase of 280% to 307,000 ounces at 3.0g/t (9 September 2026).

Exploration decision

Catalyst will decide in December 2026 whether it changes its exploration activities and expenditure. In the meantime it sees value in further potential low-cost Reserves from Trident, Cinnamon and Old Highway, and exploration is targeting down-dip extensions of these deposits.

The company states that production of this scale is sufficiently attractive in the current gold industry, and that Plutonic required considerable investment, including an operational turnaround, fixing historical infrastructure, developing satellite mines and exploration. It reports a Mineral Resource of 5.1 million ounces at 3.2g/t, with Indicated resources of 32.9 million tonnes at 3.3g/t for 3.4 million ounces and Inferred resources of 9 million tonnes at 2.7g/t for 0.8 million ounces. Exploration is targeting down-dip extensions of each of the new deposits.

Core growth drivers and material operating risks

Core growth drivers

The items identified are bringing Trident Underground, Cinnamon and Old Highway into production, further Reserve growth from those deposits, down-dip exploration and the December 2026 decision on exploration spending.

Material operating risks

Current production of about 100,000 ounces is half of the 200,000 ounce target, and reaching it depends on developing three new mines and processing their ore through the existing plant. Ore Reserves depend on price, cost and recovery assumptions. Underground operations carry ground, workforce and cost risks, and the company's AISC of about A$2,800 per ounce is exposed to cost inflation.