Astral Resources NL (ASX:AAR) has cleared another key regulatory hurdle at its Feysville Gold Project in Western Australia, with the grant of a new mining lease paving the way for early production planning and further de-risking of the broader Mandilla development strategy.
The company on Monday confirmed that Mining Lease M26/846 has been granted, covering the Think Big and Rogan Josh gold deposits at Feysville. The approval represents a meaningful step towards advancing what Astral has previously flagged as an early production opportunity at Think Big.
The newly granted lease sits within the Feysville Gold Project, around 14 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie and close to some of Australia’s most prolific gold operations. The approval removes a key permitting risk for two of Feysville’s defined deposits and allows the company to move forward with mine-level planning and optimisation work.
Map of Feysville Gold Project denoting the newly granted Mining Lease M26/846.
Pathway opens for early production
Astral said the grant of M26/846 “paves the way” for progressing early production at Think Big deposit, one of three deposits that make up Feysville’s existing mineral resource. Think Big has been identified as a potential near-term source of ore for a future Mandilla-based operation.
The company also confirmed it will immediately start the application to extend mining tenure to include the Kamperman deposit — one of Feysville’s three defined resources alongside Think Big and Rogan Josh — with that process expected to complete by the June quarter of 2026.
Once granted, a mining lease over Kamperman would bring all of Feysville’s defined resources under mining tenure, strengthening the project’s role as a satellite ore source for Astral’s flagship Mandilla Gold Project.
Strategic fit with Mandilla
Feysville sits within the Norseman–Wiluna Greenstone Belt and the Kambalda Domain of the Archean Yilgarn Craton, a region that hosts several world-class gold operations, including Northern Star’s Kalgoorlie Super Pit, Gold Fields’ St Ives mine and Westgold’s Beta Hunt mine.
Across the Kamperman, Think Big and Rogan Josh deposits, Feysville hosts a mineral resource estimate of 5 million tonnes at 1.2 grams per tonne gold for 196,000 ounces. Previous studies have highlighted Feysville’s potential value as supplementary feed for a larger Mandilla-centric operation.
Astral’s Mandilla pre-feasibility study demonstrated that Feysville could contribute 3.7 million tonnes at 1.1 grams per tonne gold — or about 132,000 ounces — towards a broader production target of 1.41 million ounces.
Map of Feysville Gold Project (including tenements and deposits/prospects), as well as newly granted Mining Lease M26/846.
The mining lease grant follows a series of recent milestones for Astral, including a $6.5 million capital raising to accelerate Mandilla development and the completion of a 99-hole infill drilling campaign at the Theia deposit, which confirmed a high-grade starter pit scenario.
Read more: Astral secures $65 million to accelerate Mandilla development
Building momentum
The Feysville approval adds to a growing sense of momentum around Astral’s development pipeline. Securing mining tenure over Think Big and Rogan Josh reduces uncertainty around permitting timelines and brings early production options into clearer focus.
With further drilling, permitting and study work ongoing across Mandilla and its satellite deposits, Astral appears increasingly focused on sequencing near-term opportunities while continuing to build scale across its broader Kalgoorlie gold portfolio.