Vault Minerals will spend $80 million to expand its King of the Hills processing facility to a six-million-tonne-per-annum (Mtpa) capacity, increasing throughput by 20 per cent compared to the 2023–24 financial year (FY24).
King of the Hills is a key processing hub in one of Australia’s most active gold regions, the Leonora region of Western Australia.
Vault described the facility as the “largest, lowest-cost and most readily scalable process facility in the prolific and highly active Leonora district”, with the expansion set to further improve the cost and operational competitiveness of the King of the Hills plant.
The expansion focuses on building a new single-stage primary gyratory crushing circuit approximately 110m west of the current one. The upgrade is designed for improved reliability, reduced unit costs, and increased throughput.
It will allow direct tipping operations for dump trucks and road trains, minimising disruptions to existing operations during construction.
The plant’s wet circuit will also be upgraded, including new classification facilities and four additional carbon-in-pulp tanks. Other enhancements will include upgrades to tailings pump capacity, carbon regeneration, electrowinning, and associated services.
GR Engineering Services completed the project’s design and costing, which includes future provisions for expanding the KPF to a 7mtpa capacity.
Construction is scheduled to begin in April 2025, with commissioning expected in the fourth quarter of FY26. Vault plans to fund the upgrade internally, with approximately $8 million allocated for FY25.
The company’s Leonora operations currently host ore reserves of 2.24 million ounces (Moz) and mineral resources of 6.02Moz, supporting a base 10-year life of mine.
The current milling capacity limits production, with a 7.3Mt stockpile adjacent to the mill containing approximately 108,000oz.
“The low-capital-intensity plant expansion will reduce ore stockpiling and rehandling, while accelerating the treatment of our King of the Hills stockpile,” Vault said.
The project aligns with the company’s ongoing exploration and reserve growth activities at King of the Hills and Darlot, strengthening its position in the Leonora district.
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