Barton Gold: 3-Stage Production Plan for Gold in Australia

Key Concepts

• District Consolidation: Barton Gold's strategy to acquire and control an entire historical gold district.
• Infrastructure Leverage: Utilizing existing infrastructure (mills, mines) to reduce operational costs and accelerate development.
• Phased Development: A staged approach to production, starting with lower-risk, simpler operations and gradually scaling up.
• Tailings Reprocessing: Utilizing historical mine waste (tailings) as a source of gold, particularly higher-grade ones.
• Hard Rock Mining: Transitioning to extracting gold from fresh rock formations.
• Tonkilia Project: Barton Gold's second major project, a large-scale, high-grade operation.
• "What?" Project Acquisition: A recent acquisition enhancing logistical access and processing efficiency.
• Taroola Project: A historical goldfield with a significant recent silver discovery.
• High-Grade Silver Discovery: The unexpected discovery of exceptionally high-grade silver at the Taroola project.
• Gold-Silver Synergy: The potential to produce both gold and silver from the same district and process them efficiently.
• Infrastructure Monopoly: Barton Gold's strategic advantage of controlling key infrastructure in its district.
• Staged Financing: A financing strategy that relies on cash flow from existing operations to fund future development.
• Credit Financing: Utilizing debt and other credit facilities to fund a significant portion of project development.

Barton Gold: Strategic Update and Production Outlook

This summary details the strategic progress and future plans of Barton Gold, as presented by Alexander Scandlin, Managing Director and CEO, at the Precious Metal Summit Conference Zurich. The company has experienced significant growth, with its share price increasing approximately five-fold in the past nine months, attributed to a combination of a buoyant gold market and the successful execution of its long-term strategy.

Strategic Vision and Recent Achievements

Barton Gold's core strategy over the past five years has been to consolidate an entire historical gold district, systematically assess its potential, and establish a clear, cost-effective pathway to production by leveraging existing infrastructure. This approach was deliberately pursued during periods of lower market interest.

Key recent developments include:

• Gold Price Appreciation: A favorable gold market has increased investor attention.
• Demonstrated Potential: Studies over the past six to nine months have validated the potential of their existing mill, the scale of their second asset (Tonkilia), and the low development costs and rapid payback associated with it.
• High-Grade Silver Discovery: Barton Gold announced one of Australia's highest-grade silver discoveries, significantly boosting awareness.
• Share Price Performance: The company's share price has seen a five-fold increase in the last nine months.
• ASX All Ordinaries Inclusion: Barton Gold was invited to join the ASX All Ordinaries Index, administered by S&P Global.
• Franklin Templeton Investment: Franklin Templeton led a $15 million placement at a premium to the prevailing share price, signifying strong investor confidence.

Production Plan: Phased Development and Infrastructure Leverage

Barton Gold is currently undertaking a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for production at its existing Central Gallery Mill. This facility is fully permitted and has approximately 300,000 ounces of gold in reserves, comprising 200,000 ounces from existing open pit and underground mines, and 100,000 ounces from historical tailings, some of which are higher grade.

The DFS is structured into two phases to align with a two-phase startup model:

• Phase 1: Tailings Reprocessing: The initial phase will focus on restarting operations by processing historical tailings. These tailings have a grade between 0.5 to 1 g/t gold and exhibit simple metallurgy.
• Phase 2: Blending with Fresh Rock: Approximately one year later, Phase 2 will commence, blending the tailings with high-grade fresh rock material, which ranges from 3 g/t to 10 g/t gold.

This phased approach aims to derisk each step and achieve a simple entry into operations, with production expected to grow from 20,000-30,000 ounces to 40,000 ounces per annum.

Longer-Term Production Outlook:

• Tonkilia Project: In parallel, Barton Gold is permitting and building its second, larger Tonkilia project. This project represents a $400 million investment and is projected to produce 120,000 ounces of gold per annum.
• Combined Production: The company envisions a production profile that starts around 12 months from now, with the growth pathway commencing from the end of 2026. By 2028-2029, with both the existing mill and the Tonkilia project operational, Barton Gold aims for a combined production of up to 200,000 ounces per annum.
• Production Timeline: Stage 1 production is targeted to begin around January 1st, 2027, with the existing mill operating through 2027-2029. The Tonkilia project will be under construction during 2028-2029.
• Tonkilia Payback: The Tonkilia project is designed for a rapid payback, with the entire development cost expected to be recouped in the first year of production, which is projected to yield 200,000 ounces.

Exploration and Regional Enhancement Strategies

Barton Gold is actively pursuing exploration to further leverage its existing infrastructure. The company has achieved critical mass to support two mills and is now focusing on regional enhancement strategies.

• "What?" Project Acquisition: In August, Barton Gold acquired the "What?" project, the fourth main historical gold asset in the district and the only one previously not owned. This project is located south of the Tonkilia mill and offers two key advantages:

  • Accessibility: It is situated directly on the main highway, facilitating transport logistics.
  • Concentration Potential: Preliminary metallurgical tests suggest that approximately 90% of the gold can be concentrated into 6% of the feed mass. This allows for a simpler processing approach, where material is crushed, ground, and floated, reducing the need for a full-scale cyanide leaching facility. The concentrated material (e.g., 36,000 tons from 600,000 tons of feed) can then be transported daily to the mill.

• Taroola Project and Silver Discovery: The historical Taroola project, the original site of South Australia's gold rush, is located between the two mills. After years of deciphering the high-grade gold operations, Barton Gold discovered a similar structure 5 km to the west.

  • Gold Discovery: Drilling in May 2024 led to a gold discovery announced in August 2024.
  • High-Grade Silver Discovery: A significant and surprising development occurred in March of this year with the discovery of one of Australia's highest-grade silver deposits. The discovery hole returned an intersection of 6 meters at 4,747 g/t silver and 13 g/t gold, all within 50 meters of the surface. This is particularly unusual for an historical goldfield and for the region.
  • Identical Feeder Structure: An identical feeder structure has been identified, exhibiting different mineralization characteristics.
  • Exploration and Extension: The silver zone has been drilled in all directions and extended. Soil assays indicate potential growth, and diamond drilling results are awaited to identify structural controls for further tracing and extension of the high-grade mineralization.
  • Blending Potential: The high-grade gold and silver at Taroola are expected to serve as attractive blending material to enhance the economics of both the gold and silver mills.

Gold and Silver Production Synergy

Barton Gold highlights the potential for producing both gold and silver from the same district and processing them efficiently.

• Tonkilia's Silver Contribution: While Tonkilia is considered a gold project economically, it produces twice as much silver as gold in terms of metal content. It is projected to produce approximately 1 million ounces of gold and 2 million ounces of silver, making it effectively a silver project with a significant gold credit.
• Taroola's Dual Zones: The Tolmer discovery at Taroola has both a gold zone and a silver zone. The company plans to send material from the gold zone to the Challenger mill (primarily gold processing) and material from the silver zone to the Tonkilia mill (primarily silver processing).

Long-Term Vision and Growth Potential

Barton Gold's long-term vision is to become a significant producer, potentially exceeding 200,000-400,000 ounces of gold equivalent per annum.

• Value Proposition: The company anticipates that the majority of its value will continue to be derived from gold production, unless a very large-scale silver asset is discovered.
• Platform for Growth: The established platform supports further regional consolidation or growth through exploration.
• Resource Base: Barton Gold has identified approximately 2.2 million ounces of gold and 3 million ounces of silver, contained within a small proportion of its regional structures.
• Project Longevity: The company aims to extend the life of its projects from 10 years to 20 or 30 years.
• Production Scaling: If larger gold discoveries are made, production targets could increase to 200,000, 250,000, or 300,000 ounces per annum.
• Infrastructure Monopoly: Barton Gold's control over key infrastructure provides a significant strategic advantage, enabling it to work with other explorers in the region. These explorers can potentially become small-scale producers and send their material to Barton Gold for processing, contributing to the company's production growth.

Financing Strategy

Barton Gold's financing strategy is based on a staged development approach, minimizing upfront capital requirements.

• Stage 1 Mill Restart: The initial investment to restart the existing, fully permitted Central Gallery Mill is estimated to be between A$30 million and A$50 million (approximately US$20 million to US$40 million). This relatively small investment is supported by the mill's existing infrastructure and credit value.
• Credit Financing and Cash Flow: The company plans to utilize a material component of credit financing, along with potential stockpile financing and gold forward sales, to fund the restart. The equity component for this stage is expected to be small.
• Tonkilia Project Financing: As the company transitions to operations and generates cash flow, it anticipates that the cash generated from its existing operations will fund most or all of the equity required for the Tonkilia project. The Tonkilia project is expected to be financed with approximately 60-70% credit and 30-40% equity, potentially requiring A$140 million to A$180 million in equity.

Conclusion

Barton Gold has successfully executed its long-term strategy, transforming from a company with theoretical potential to a tangible producer with a clear pathway to significant growth. The company's strategic consolidation of a gold district, leverage of existing infrastructure, phased development approach, and recent high-grade silver discovery position it for a bright future. The company's ability to finance its ambitious plans through a combination of credit facilities and internally generated cash flow further strengthens its outlook. The world requires the resources Barton Gold is poised to deliver from its Australian operations.