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 Ltd. (“Northern Star”), located in Western Australia, approximately 120 kilometers northeast of Kalgoorlie. Northern Star refers to the active mining region of our South Laverton royalty as the 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 care and maintenance due to depressed gold prices and limited gold resources. In February 2006, Saracen Minerals, now Northern Star, acquired the CDO processing plant and, in late 2009, a refurbishment was completed to reinstate the mill facility to its full nameplate capacity of 2.4 million tonnes per year. Gold is recovered by gravity concentration and carbon-in-leach (CIL) cyanidation.
Currently ore is sourced from the Whirling Dervish and Karari underground mines adjacent to the process plant, and from the Million Dollar and Porphyry open-pits 40 kilometers to the north.
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); royalty payments pertaining to the NPI, if payable, are made annually within 60 days of the end of the fiscal year (June 30-ending), whereas the NSR royalty payments are made quarterly. Royal Gold also holds an A$6.00 per ounce royalty once 265,745 ounces of gold have been produced and an A$10.00 per ounce royalty once 160,333 ounces of gold have been produced from certain South Laverton tenements. The thresholds have not been met for either A$ per ounce royalty.
Royal Gold acquired its royalty interests in two transactions: