- Vertex will have the Reward gold mine on 24/7 with underground and blast limits lifted
- Dedicated Resemin Muki longhole rig confirmed for September 2026 construction
- With the fleet better utilised, no further equipment needed for ramp up
Special Report: Vertex Minerals is ready for lower cost production of more Reward gold after winning approval for 24/7 underground operations.
The company has received approval for the Reward mine at Hill End in NSW to work round the clock, with environmental approval expected to follow in 2-4 weeks.
Most of the cost base at Reward is fixed. The underground fleet, ventilation and dewatering, the refurbished Gekko gravity plant and ore sorter are all funded whether or not the mine is operating.
That means extending operations to 24 hours a day spreads those costs for Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) across a materially larger tonnage of gold.
“The restrictive hours of work and blasting times have been the biggest impediment on this mine,” Vertex executive director of operations Jim Simpson said.
“This approval, together with the move to mechanised longhole stoping and the arrival of the Muki booms, gives us three key elements to bring the mine into production.”
VTX will also be taking full advantage of gold’s 17% surge since mid-June to US$4600/oz.
Some 59oz of gold was sold in July 2026 with another 32oz on hand and available for sale.
More cycles, same tools
The underground mining cycle at Reward runs in sequence: bog, ground support, drill, charge, fire re-enter, then advance.
Under the previous consent, firing was limited to 9am to 3pm six days a week, with no firing on Sundays or public holidays.
With blasting now permitted at any time, the time to complete the cycle increases from 9 hours to 11 hours per day.
Ventilation clearance and re-entry can be scheduled across shift changes and crib breaks, rather than consuming the core of a working shift.
That means a greater number of completed cycles per face per week – without additional equipment.
Further equipment will not be needed to complete the ramp up and further growth next year, the company says, with the existing mining fleet better utilised.
The development modification permits underground blasting at any time within the approved blasting limits, lifting the fixed firing windows that have governed the mining cycle at Reward.
The major effect is that available working hours change from 9 hours per day to 22 hours per day.
Jumbo update
Muki jumbo rails, used to excavate narrower tunnels for less waste rock dilution, have been fitted to the existing Epiroc T1D and Atlas Copco H104 jumbo drills.
This will reduce dilution by more than 20% for the same cut length, VTX explained.
Some 37m of advanced development was achieved during July 2026, and an additional 20m of development rehabilitation, with each Jumbo offline that month for the fitting of Muki rails.
Now development metres and stope firings per month are expected to increase, building ore inventory and stope availability ahead of the plant.
Additional firing will continue throughout this month, with more frequent firing and cycle completion translating directly into more advances.
The benefit extends to longhole stoping. Under continuous operations, production rings can be fired progressively as they are charged, and bogging with the remote-controlled Aramine loaders can continue through the night rather than pausing between shifts.
The first panel was fired from Vertex’s trial long hole open stope at Decline 3 at the end of July, with ore beginning to be processed during August 2026.
What’s next
A dedicated Resemin Muki longhole production drill rig – a low-profile machine suited to the narrow, confined drives typical at Reward – is confirmed for construction in mid-September 2026 ahead of shipping to Australia.
The timing means the return on that investment will improve from the outset, VTX says.
The second Bird underground truck has arrived in Australia and, once fire suppression and lagging is fitted, it will be available for use onsite by early September 2026.
The approval to go 24/7 at the mine near Hill End in central-west New South Wales follows the Bathurst Regional Council’s decision to approve a development consent modification.
Vertex is now applying for a variation to its environmental protection license to align with it, which should take 2-4 weeks.
This article was developed in collaboration with Vertex Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
