Panther Metals (ASX:PNT) achieves 84% gravity gold recovery at Burtville East

Panther Metals has delivered another layer of technical validation for its Laverton gold ambitions, with metallurgical testwork from the Burtville East Gold Project in Western Australia demonstrating 84 per cent gravity recoverable gold from both oxide and fresh ore.

The results suggest the potential for low-cost onsite gravity processing and add economic weight to the company’s recently released Scoping Study.

Highlights

• Gravity Recoverable Gold (GRG) testwork achieved 84% recovery from both oxide (quartz/clay) and fresh (quartz/basalt) samples.

• Results confirm potential for simple, low-cost onsite crushing and wet plant processing.

• Testwork conducted on representative samples from drillhole 25BERC17 and historical stockpiles.

• Burtville East Scoping Study (October 2025) outlined an NPV₈ of A$26.6 million and IRR of 44%.

• Updated Mineral Resource Estimate of 110,900 tonnes at 2.79g/t Au for 10,000 ounces (0.5g/t cut-off).

Panther’s latest metallurgical program represents a material step in de-risking its Burtville East Project, located within the Laverton Gold District of Western Australia.

Conducted by Independent Metallurgical Operations, the Gravity Recoverable Gold (GRG) testwork was designed to evaluate the amenability of both oxide and fresh ore to gravity concentration.

The outcomes are notable for their uniformity: both ore types yielded identical gravity recoveries of 84 per cent, a strong indicator that simple gravity processing could be viable across the orebody.

The oxide sample was taken from drillhole 25BERC17, which returned one metre at 13.05g/t gold from 10 metres and 11 metres at 7.72g/t from 27 metres. The fresh sample originated from a historical basalt–quartz stockpile that previously recorded grab samples grading as high as 27.2g/t gold.

Panther Metals‘ Managing Director, Daniel Tuffin, said the results reinforce the potential for a streamlined, capital-light development model:

“These metallurgical results are extremely encouraging, demonstrating that both oxide and fresh rock ore from Burtville East can achieve very high gold recoveries using simple, low-cost onsite gravity processing.”

The findings are particularly relevant in the context of the project’s October 2025 Scoping Study, which outlined robust financial metrics under a toll-treatment scenario.

With the metallurgical data now suggesting that onsite processing may be feasible, there is clear scope for further optimisation of project economics.

The company plans additional analyses, including optical microscopy and QEMSCAN, to confirm the presence of coarse, liberated gold grains and to refine its understanding of associated mineral assemblages.

The GRG results also build upon the project’s updated Mineral Resource Estimate of 110,900 tonnes at 2.79g/t for 10,000 ounces (0.5g/t cut-off), which underpinned the Scoping Study.

That study projected a modest open pit containing 112,000 tonnes of ore grading 2.46g/t gold for 8,893 ounces, generating an NPV₈ of A$26.6 million and an internal rate of return of 44 per cent at a gold price of A$5,500 per ounce.

Situated within the Laverton Tectonic Zone, Burtville East lies along a 30-kilometre gold corridor consolidated through successive acquisitions by Panther Metals, where the company has delineated a shallow, high-grade vein system extending to approximately 90 metres depth and remaining open down plunge.

This combination of geological continuity and strong metallurgical response indicates a scalable development pathway that could commence with small-scale open pit operations.

The high gravity recoveries lessen reliance on complex and costly cyanide leach circuits, supporting lower capital requirements while enhancing project flexibility and allowing for staged development or modular expansion in response to prevailing gold prices and funding conditions.

While the Burtville East Scoping Study was premised on toll milling, the metallurgical findings suggest Panther may be able to re-evaluate that assumption.

A simple gravity circuit could enable early cashflow generation through onsite processing, particularly given the project’s proximity to infrastructure and existing haul roads.

Further metallurgical and mineralogical testing will clarify whether this approach can be incorporated into a future feasibility study.

For now, the 84 per cent gravity recovery from both oxide and fresh ore strengthens the technical foundations of the Burtville East Project and positions Panther Metals favourably within the Laverton gold province, an area historically synonymous with low-cost, high-return operations.

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