Operator: Northern Star Resources Limited
Location: Western Australia, Australia
Term of Royalty: Life of Mine
South Laverton is a series of open-pit and underground projects, owned and operated by Northern Star Resources Limited. South Laverton is located in the South Laverton Region of Western Australia, approximately 120 kilometers northeast of Kalgoorlie. South Laverton is part of the larger Carosue Dam Operations (CDO).
The CDO processing plant was constructed in 2000 and commissioned in November of that year. The CDO operated continuously through to June 2005 when it was put on a care and maintenance program due to depressed gold prices and limited gold resources. In February 2006, Saracen, now Northern Star Resources Ltd., acquired the CDO processing plant and, in late 2009, a minimal refurbishment was required to reinstate the mill facility to its full nameplate capacity of 2.4 million tonnes per year. Ore is mined from the Karari and Dervish underground mines and trucked to the CDO processing plant where gold is recovered by gravity concentration and carbon-in-leach (CIL) cyanidation.
Royal Gold holds a 1.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on all metals produced from South Laverton and a 4.0% net profits interest (NPI) royalty on gold produced from certain South Laverton tenements (Kurnalpi). Royal Gold also holds an A$6.00 per ounce royalty once 265,745 ounces of gold have been produced and an A$10.00 per ounce royalty once 160,333 ounces of gold have been produced from certain South Laverton tenements. The A$6.00 per ounce and the A$10.00 per ounce royalties are payable on gold only, and as of December 31, 2022, the thresholds have not been met for either A$ per ounce royalty.
Royal Gold acquired its royalty interests in two transactions:
*Detailed information on our interest can be found on the Portfolio Asset Summary table