K92 Mining owns the Kainantu Gold Mine in the Eastern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea. The Kainantu Gold Mine is a high-grade, low cost underground mine within a ~830 km2 land package in a region known for Tier 1 deposits. At the end of 3Q20, K92 commissioned its Stage 2 Expansion doubling throughput to 400ktpa, followed by the Stage 2A Expansion commissioned in 2Q23 increasing throughput +25% to 500ktpa (+120koz/year). In December 2022, K92 announced its largest expansions to date with the approval of the Stage 3 and 4 Expansions. The Integrated Development Plan’s Stage 3 DFS Case and Stage 4 PEA Case, outlines a World Class Tier 1 gold mine with a Stage 3 Expansion DFS run-rate production of +291koz AuEq pa, average AISC of $716/oz co-product and After-Tax NPV5% of US$586m at $1,600/oz or US$855m at $2,000/oz, and a Stage 4 Expansion PEA run-rate production of +470koz AuEq pa, average AISC of $674/oz co-product and After-Tax NPV5% of US$1.3b at $1,600/oz or US$1.8b at $2,000/oz. Both Stage 3 and 4 expansions are at industry lowest quartile all-in sustaining costs. Construction is underway, with commissioning of the Stage 3 process plant planned for the end of 1Q25. Drilling to support potential further expansions is ongoing with up to 11 rigs drilling multiple targets concurrently.
“The Stage 3 Expansion DFS economics are robust, delivering capital expenditures fully funded from mine cash flow, Tier 1 peak production scale of 309 koz AuEq, Tier 1 costs averaging over the life of mine of $366/oz cash costs and all-in sustaining cost of $545/oz and a solid after-tax NPV5% of $586 million at US$1,600/oz or US$855 million at US$2,000/oz over a 7-year mine life.
The PEA shows potential for further growth, increasing throughput by 240% from the Stage 2A Expansion for a run-rate for a peak production of 500 koz AuEq, low life of mine average cash costs of $275/oz and all-in sustaining costs of $444/oz with a NPV5% of $1.3 billion at US$1,600/oz or US$1.8 billion at US$2,000/oz over an 11-year mine life. PEA capital expenditures are also fully funded from mine cash flow, and it is important to highlight that K92’s financial position has never been stronger than it is today.
It is also important to highlight that we see a tremendous opportunity to enhance the outcomes of the expansion plans through exploration in addition to other regional targets and have placed a major focus on this.”
- CEO and Director, John Lewins
September 12, 2022
“We are extremely proud to receive the Thayer Lindsley Award, which we believe recognizes the world-class nature of the Kainantu Gold Mine, the tremendous geologic potential of Papua New Guinea, and the significant value creation from the K92 team. The rapid progress has been truly remarkable, achieving commercial production in late-January 2018, exceeding production guidance in both 2018 and 2019, completing our Stage 2 Process Plant Expansion followed by a Stage 2A Process Plant Expansion underway, while also advancing our next stages of growth through the Stage 3 Expansion DFS and Stage 4 Expansion PEA in announced in 3Q 2022. This would not have been possible if it weren’t for the extraordinary commitment of our team and the strong support of all levels of government in Papua New Guinea.”