Key Highlights

  • Stavely Minerals said studies are under way into an underground mine, a hybrid plan and heap leaching for Thursday's Gossan and the Cayley Lode in Victoria.
  • The August 2026 scoping study reported a pre-tax net present value of A$818 million and a 40 per cent pre-tax internal rate of return for a single open pit.
  • Cash was A$2.006 million at 30 September 2026, and the company estimated about 1.9 quarters of funding at the current burn rate.

Stavely Minerals (ASX:SVY) said in its September 2026 Quarterly Report that studies are under way into three alternatives for Thursday's Gossan and the Cayley Lode in Victoria, announced on 13 October 2026. They are a small-footprint underground mine on the Cayley Lode, which the company cites at 9.1 million tonnes at 1.6 per cent copper equivalent, a hybrid plan with a starter open pit moving underground, and heap leaching of a chalcocite-enriched blanket of 22 million tonnes at 0.39 per cent copper. The Options are not mutually exclusive.

The company said they could carry lower net present values than the open-pit case but need less capital, with comparable internal rates of return. They have not been quantified, and Stavely said they may also offer a simpler permitting pathway and greater community support. The next quarter's focus is evaluating them.

The scoping study baseline

The alternatives follow a scoping study released on 10 August 2026. It assumed a single three-stage open pit feeding a 4 million tonne a year standalone plant, with 51.4 million tonnes milled at 0.39 per cent copper over a 13-year life and copper recovery of 84.8 per cent. Concentrate would be trucked about 150 kilometres to Portland. The company reported pre-tax net present value at a 7 per cent real discount rate of A$818 million, a 40 per cent pre-tax internal rate of return and a post-tax value of A$542.5 million, on assumptions including copper at US$6.01 per pound and gold at US$4,509 per ounce.

Capital included A$333 million for the plant and infrastructure, including 30 per cent contingency, and A$139 million of pre-production mining. The report states that an open-pit Capital requirement of this scale would typically need a strategic development partner or a sale to a larger company. The study is a scoping study.

Freddy's Find drilling

At Freddy's Find, a blind gold-silver discovery under 20 to 50 metres of basalt, diamond hole STDD002 reported on 19 September 2026 returned 13.7 metres at 1.80 grams per tonne gold equivalent from 223.3 metres, including 4 metres at 3.41 grams per tonne from 233 metres. A separate 32-metre interval averaged 1.00 gram per tonne gold equivalent from 220 metres. The company said grades at depth were higher than in earlier shallow reverse-circulation drilling, which included 16 metres at 1.05 grams per tonne.

These are exploration results, not a mineral resource, and the company stated that no metallurgical testwork has been completed. Stavely said it is still working to secure access to the Junction Prospect for diamond drilling. At the Hawkstone nickel-copper-cobalt project in Western Australia, a co-funded electromagnetic survey, supported by up to A$150,820 from the state's geophysics programme, was in progress at quarter end and is expected to finish in the December 2026 quarter.

Cash position and funding

The accompanying Cash Flow report shows cash of A$2.006 million at 30 September 2026, down from A$3.110 million at the start of the quarter. Operating outflow was A$1.079 million, including A$603,000 of exploration and evaluation spending, and the only financing item was A$25,000 of Lease payments. No Equity was raised, and no Debt facilities are available.

On the current Burn Rate Stavely Minerals (ASX:SVY) estimated about 1.9 quarters of funding, below the two-quarter threshold that triggers additional disclosures. The company said it does not expect to maintain the current level of spending, with exploration expected to fall next quarter and annual listing fees already paid. It said the board monitors cash and that future fundraisings are tied to planned exploration programmes, but it did not announce a raise or state the likelihood of one. It said it can continue operating and meet its objectives on the basis of reduced spending.