Kairos Minerals Ltd (ASX:KAI, OTCQB:KAIFF) earlier this week announced it has signed a mining agreement with the Nyamal Aboriginal Corporation (NAC), representing the traditional owners of the Mt York gold project area in Western Australia.
The company told investors that negotiations for the agreement took place over the past 12 months, involving discussions both in Perth and on country. It said the agreement is a critical step in advancing the Mt York project.
Kairos said the signed agreement paves the way for the state government to consider and grant a mining lease over the project area. It said the lease will enable the company to begin formal development planning for Mt York.
Dr. Peter Turner, Managing Director, said the agreement with NAC marked a major milestone. He described the relationship with the traditional owners as very strong and based on good faith negotiations.
Kairos said its objective is to progress Mt York toward development as an operating gold mine, with a projected development window beginning in 2026 or 2027.
Proactive:
Welcome back to Proactive Newsroom. I'm now joined by Kairos Minerals Managing Director Dr. Peter Turner. Peter, it's been a fair while — how are you?
Dr. Peter Turner:
I'm good, thank you very much.
Proactive:
You've now signed a mining agreement with the Nyamal Aboriginal Corporation (NAC), the traditional owners of the land where the Mt York gold project is located. How important is this?
Dr. Peter Turner:
It’s massive for the development of Mt York. We’ve been negotiating the mining agreement with NAC for 12 months now. I can say that our relationship with NAC is absolutely fantastic. We’ve negotiated in good faith, both on country and in Perth. The signing of the agreement is the culmination of those 12 months of negotiations.
It leads us to the next step, which is the granting of the mining lease by the state government. So, signing the agreement with NAC really opens the door for the project to be developed.
Proactive:
You’ve got the agreement locked in now. Investors have been waiting to see Mt York move forward for some time. What can they expect next?
Dr. Peter Turner:
We hope the state government will now grant the mining lease application over the project area. That really opens the door for development. We are aiming to develop Mt York into an operating gold mine. This agreement, and the granting of the lease, creates a trajectory to move the project into development through 2026 and 2027.
Proactive:
We’ll keep a close eye on Mt York — it sounds like investors have quite a bit to look forward to. This was Kairos Minerals Managing Director Dr. Peter Turner. Thank you so much.
Dr. Peter Turner:
Thank you.