Catalyst Metals Delivers Bulk Gold Intercepts, 200koz Target in Reach
Key Takeaways
- Infill drilling at Cinnamon has confirmed grade continuity across a 700m mineralised strike length, with headline intercepts of 27m @ 20.5g/t Au, 60m @ 9.2g/t Au, and 57m @ 6.9g/t Au supporting bulk-scale underground mining.
- A maiden Resource and Reserve update for Cinnamon is expected within weeks, which will formally quantify the deposit's contribution to Catalyst's 200koz annual production target.
- Cinnamon is the sixth ore source feeding a single 2Mtpa CIL processing plant at the Plutonic Gold Belt, meaning each new mine addition adds throughput without major new capital expenditure on processing infrastructure.
- Catalyst holds A$331 million in cash and bullion with zero debt, providing the financial capacity to advance multiple mine developments simultaneously without equity dilution.
- Gold mineralisation at Cinnamon is hosted in sedimentary conglomerates — a rock type previously overlooked on the Plutonic Belt — opening an entirely new category of exploration targets across the broader belt.
Cinnamon delivers bulk-scale gold intercepts, putting Catalyst’s 200koz ambition firmly in reach
Infill drilling at the Cinnamon deposit has confirmed the deposit is amenable to bulk-scale underground mining, with thick, continuous high-grade intercepts across the mineralised zone. Catalyst Metals (ASX: CYL) reported headline results of 27m @ 20.5g/t Au, 60m @ 9.2g/t Au, and 57m @ 6.9g/t Au from the current infill program, announced on 2 September 2026.
Cinnamon is the sixth ore source in Catalyst’s plan to grow annual gold production at the Plutonic Gold Belt from approximately 100koz to ±200koz. A maiden Resource and Reserve update is expected in the coming weeks.
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Q&A: What makes Cinnamon different from a typical gold deposit?
Not all gold deposits are created equal. The geological character of Cinnamon sets it apart in ways that directly affect mining economics and investor risk.
Here are the key concepts to understand:
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Bulk-scale underground mining means extracting large volumes of ore from wide, continuous mineralised zones underground. The broader and more consistent the zone, the larger the individual mining blocks (called “stopes”) that can be extracted in a single pass. Bigger stopes mean lower cost per tonne and more predictable grade delivery to the processing plant.
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Continuous mineralisation vs isolated veins: Many underground gold deposits are hosted in narrow, high-grade veins. These require precise, expensive mining and carry the risk of accidentally mining barren rock. Cinnamon’s assays show grade is distributed continuously across broad intercepts, not confined to isolated high-grade spikes. That lowers geological risk considerably.
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Conglomerate host rock: Cinnamon’s gold mineralisation is hosted in sedimentary conglomerates rather than the mafic (volcanic) rock types that have historically driven exploration on the Plutonic Belt. This opens up an entirely new category of exploration targets across a belt that had previously focused almost exclusively on one rock type.
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Repeating stacked conglomerate units: The geological conditions that host gold at Cinnamon (shear zones cutting through conglomerate sequences) appear to repeat at depth and in parallel units. If mineralisation replicates across these additional units, Cinnamon’s footprint could be considerably larger than currently defined.
Drilling results in full: continuity confirmed across 700m strike length
The current infill program had two clear objectives: confirm grade and geological continuity ahead of the maiden Resource and Reserve, and test for repeat mineralisation within parallel conglomerate units at depth.
The high-grade shoot sits immediately beneath the existing Cinnamon open pit, approximately 200m below surface and has now been delineated over a 700m mineralised strike length. The headline intercepts from this program are:
- 27m @ 20.5g/t Au
- 60m @ 9.2g/t Au
- 57m @ 6.9g/t Au
- 13m @ 19.1g/t Au
- 36m @ 6.3g/t Au
- 35m @ 6.1g/t Au
- 19m @ 5.7g/t Au
- 8m @ 13.1g/t Au
Drilling also returned results from conglomerate units sitting above and below the known high-grade zone: 8m @ 4.7g/t Au, 8m @ 1.6g/t Au, and 0.5m @ 21g/t Au. These are early-stage targets and the announcement confirms follow-up drilling is planned for these areas.
The table below shows a selection of representative drill results from the current infill program, sourced directly from the announcement’s drill table appendix:
| Hole ID | From–To (m) | Downhole Length (m) | Au Grade (g/t) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNR308 | 288.19–315.00 | 26.81 | 20.5 |
| CNR320 | 165.40–225.00 | 59.6 | 9.2 |
| CNR266A | 266.45–323.20 | 56.75 | 6.9 |
| CNR243A | 147.00–160.00 | 13.0 | 19.1 |
| CNR248B | 225.00–261.00 | 36.0 | 6.3 |
| CNR295 | 305.63–324.20 | 18.57 | 5.7 |
The announcement explicitly highlights that grade and mineralisation are continuous along intercept lengths rather than confined to isolated high-grade intervals — precisely the characteristic that supports bulk-scale underground mining.
James Champion de Crespigny, Managing Director & CEO
“The attractiveness of the deposit is becoming clearer with rarely seen thick high grade mineralised intercepts amenable to bulk mining of large underground stope tonnes at attractive grades.”
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Six mines, one processing plant, and a 10-year mine life: the Plutonic Belt investment case
Cinnamon is not a standalone story. It is one component of a six-mine, single-plant production system that Catalyst is assembling to target ±200koz of annual gold production from the Plutonic Gold Belt. The six ore sources and their current status are:
- Plutonic Main & East UG — Operating (~90–100koz pa)
- K2 UG — Operating (~20koz pa)
- Trident UG — In development (~60–80koz pa target)
- Old Highway OP & UG — In development (~35koz pa target)
- Cinnamon — Studies and approvals pending; maiden Reserve expected in coming weeks
- Exploration pipeline — Additional sources under active targeting
The architecture of this system is what makes each new mine addition relatively low-cost and fast to integrate. A single, centrally located 2Mtpa CIL (carbon-in-leach) processing plant sits at the core. CIL is the standard gold ore processing method, and with the plant significantly underutilised at current production levels, each new ore source adds throughput without requiring major new capital expenditure on processing infrastructure.
Catalyst’s balance sheet reinforces that capacity: the company holds A$331m in cash and bullion with zero debt, providing the financial headroom to progress multiple mine developments simultaneously without needing to raise equity.
On the September 2025 production guidance, investors should note that Catalyst has explicitly flagged it should be treated as a general directional guide only. Since its release, the company has observed changes to permitting timelines, updated geological understanding, operational delays and processing capability, and revised Resources including Cinnamon. Future guidance will incorporate these changes.
On the speed of progress at Cinnamon specifically, the CEO was direct:
James Champion de Crespigny, Managing Director & CEO
“Within twelve months we expect to have moved from greenfields discovery to Reserve, with production following soon after.”
The next material catalyst is the maiden Resource and Reserve update, expected in the coming weeks, which will formally quantify Cinnamon’s contribution to the production growth plan.
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