Nexus Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXM) is set to take full control of the Pinnacles Gold Project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields after agreeing to acquire Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST)’s remaining 10% interest in the project.
The deal lifts Nexus’ ownership of Pinnacles to 100% and will terminate the existing joint venture with Northern Star, giving Nexus full operational and strategic control of the high-grade gold asset.
Deal clears path for project control
Under the agreement, Northern Star will sell its 10% interest in Pinnacles to Nexus in exchange for a 1.5% net smelter return royalty.
Nexus will also retain the right, at its election, to buy back 0.5% of the royalty at any time by paying $550,000 to Northern Star.
The transaction is scheduled to complete by September 30, 2026, subject to conditions precedent linked to existing legacy royalty agreements and ministerial consent. Completion will occur five days after the final condition is satisfied or waived.
High-grade resource near major gold infrastructure
Pinnacles is 100 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie and 15 kilometres south of Northern Star’s Carosue Dam operations, placing it close to established gold infrastructure in one of Western Australia’s key producing regions.
The project hosts a JORC 2012 combined mineral resource estimate of 609,000 tonnes at 4.0 g/t gold for 78,000 ounces across open-pit and underground material. This includes an underground mineral resource estimate of 450,000 tonnes at 4.6 g/t gold for 66,000 ounces.
Nexus has previously contemplated underground mine development options at Pinnacles, which already benefits from a granted mining lease, cleared flora and fauna surveys and metallurgical test recoveries of about 97%.
The project also has a native vegetation clearing permit valid to November 2030, providing a defined approvals pathway as Nexus moves toward the next stage of development assessment.
Strategic fit in Eastern Goldfields portfolio
The acquisition consolidates Nexus’ position around its broader Eastern Goldfields strategy, where the company is exploring for gold across a highly prospective tenement package in Western Australia.
Nexus’ Wallbrook Gold Project lies immediately north of Northern Star’s multi-million-ounce Carosue Dam mining operations and the operating Karari and Whirling Dervish underground gold mines. Pinnacles sits immediately south of Carosue Dam and includes Nexus-owned tenure and the former Nexus-Northern Star joint venture ground.
The company has also expanded beyond WA, adding granted tenure over 7,500 square kilometres of gold, copper and critical minerals prospective ground in New South Wales, along with the Bethanga porphyry copper-gold project in Victoria.
What’s ahead
Following completion of the transaction, Nexus intends to submit a mine development and closure plan for Pinnacles.
While Pinnacles has a defined mineral resource and several development-enabling approvals in place, Nexus notes that no ore reserves have yet been defined and further exploration and technical studies will be required to establish the potential for a mining operation and ore sales from the tenements.