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Investor Insight

With multiple catalysts ahead, including resource upgrades, expanded production, and further development of its Laverton, Menzies, and Sandstone hubs, Brightstar Resources presents a compelling investment case in a rising gold market.

Overview

Gold has continued to demonstrate its resilience as a store of value, with prices peaking at US$3,500.05 per ounce, its all-time high. Amid ongoing global economic uncertainty, including inflationary pressures, rising geopolitical tensions, and volatile interest rate environments, investors have turned to gold as both a safe haven asset and a hedge against macroeconomic instability.

Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) is strategically positioned to capitalize on this environment as a low-cost, multi-asset gold developer with near-term production potential. The company controls over 1,500 square kilometers of highly prospective ground across three of Western Australia’s most prolific gold belts: the Laverton Tectonic Zone, the Menzies Shear Zone, and the Sandstone Greenstone Belt.

Unlike many junior exploration companies, Brightstar has a key differentiator: it owns a fully permitted, strategically located processing facility near Laverton. This existing infrastructure offers the company a critical advantage, enabling a low-capex restart scenario and faster time to cash flow compared to peers who must first secure permits and fund costly plant construction. This plant is subject of a DFS due for announcement in June 2025.

Through a focused multi-hub strategy, Brightstar has built a robust pipeline of development-ready and resource-growth projects, supported by:

• Over 3 million ounces of gold resources across Laverton, Menzies, and Sandstone;
• Ongoing high-grade drilling success in 2024 and 2025, including intercepts of up to 10m @ 43.8 g/t gold;
• A track record of low-cost, value-accretive acquisitions, such as Linden Gold Alliance and Alto Metals;
• A dedicated, in-house technical team executing on aggressive exploration, fast-tracked studies, and staged development.

With global gold demand remaining strong, Brightstar is well-positioned to deliver material shareholder value through its integrated production plan, supported by scalable infrastructure, a growing resource base, and access to capital. The company’s strategic approach includes combining brownfields development, organic exploration, and corporate M&A, placing it at the forefront of a new generation of Australian gold producers.

Company Highlights

• ASX-listed gold exploration and development company with a consolidated mineral endowment of 3 Moz of gold across Laverton, Menzies, and Sandstone hubs in Western Australia.
• Owns and operates 100 percent of project areas: 300 sq km in Laverton Tectonic Zone, 80 sq km in Menzies Shear Zone, and 1,200 sq km in Sandstone Greenstone Belt.
• Gold processing operations at the Laverton facility have commenced under an Ore Purchase Agreement (OPA) with Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX:GMD), marking a significant milestone in transitioning from exploration to production.
• Recent drilling campaigns have yielded strong high-grade results, including:
  • 16m @ 8.0 g/t gold at Second Fortune (Laverton)
  • 10m @ 43.8 g/t gold at Musketeer (Sandstone)
  • 16m @ 8.0 g/t gold at Yunndaga (Menzies)
• Following the successful Linden Gold Alliance acquisition, Brightstar has commenced a DFS for the wider development of its Laverton and Menzies assets which is due for release imminently in June 2025.
• Ongoing Sandstone drilling continues to return high-grade intercepts, further supporting project advancement and MRE conversion.
• In 2024, Brightstar signed a $4 million drill-for-equity deal with Topdrill to fast-track exploration at Sandstone.
• The company has successfully executed a US$11.5 million (AU$18 million) revolving stockpile finance facility with Ocean Partners Australia.

Key Projects

Laverton Hub

Brightstar’s Laverton hub is comprised of the Cork Tree Well, Jasper Hills, Second Fortune, Beta and Alpha project areas.

Highlights:

• Combined, the Laverton Hub JORC mineral resource estimate is 15.7 Mt @ 1.7 g/t gold for 848 koz (49 percent measured and indicated category). All mineral resources are on granted mining leases
  • Cork Tree Well (6.4 Mt at 1.4 g/t gold for 292 koz gold)
  • Alpha (1.4 Mt at 2.3 g/t gold for 106 koz gold)
  • Beta (1.9 Mt at 1.7 g/t gold for 102 koz gold)
  • Lord Byron (5.2 Mt at 1.5 g/t gold for 251 koz gold)
  • Fish (376 kt at 4.0 g/t gold for 49 koz gold)
  • Second Fortune (92 kt at 13.4 g/t gold for 40 koz gold)
  • Gilt Key (168 kt at 1.3 g/t gold for 8 koz gold)
• Main project area Cork Tree Well is open at depth and along strike with recent drilling results of 34.4 meters at 7.94 g/t gold from 43.5 meters (CTWMET004) and 27.6 meters at 17.8 g/t gold from 51 m (CTWMET003)
• Second Fortune has a mineral resource estimate head grade of ~11g/t gold with an average ore body width of 0.6 meters.
• Jasper Hills is located 50 km from Brightstar’s existing processing facility along a wholly-owned private haul road, allowing unimpeded, direct access to both projects
  • Permitted, previously mined and production-ready
  • Last mined by current owners in 2020 with 23,000 oz gold mined

Menzies Hub

The Menzies Hub comprises a tenement holding of a contiguous land package of granted mining leases over a strike length of more than 20 km. The majority of deposits hosted along the Menzies Shear Zone are located adjacent to the Goldfields Highway in Menzies (130km north of Kalgoorlie).

Highlights:

• Total Current Resource: 12.7 Mt at 1.4 g/t gold for 589 koz gold (37 percent measured and indicated)
• DFS: due for delivery in June 2025, including design and costs for open pit and underground mining for toll processing/ore sales to a regional Kalgoorlie-Menzies mill.
• Growth Drivers:
  • Lady Shenton Open Pit: Proposed multi-year consistent open pit production to provide cash generation. Targeting approvals received and ‘mine ready’ in 2025
  • Yunndaga Underground: Planned infill drilling targeting conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources to M+I to support inclusion in future mining operations – recent results from this program include 16m @ 8.0 g/t gold
  • Development: Advancing discussions with regional mills for 3rd party processing capacity in the Kalgoorlie-Menzies region, targeting a mining decision.

Sandstone Hub

The consolidated Sandstone project is over 100 km from existing third-party milling operations in the Murchison. This third processing hub boasts Alto’s Sandstone project with a mineral resource of 1.05 Moz at 1.4 g/t gold and Gateway’s Montague gold project with a mineral resource of 0.5 Moz @ 1.6 g/t gold.

Growth Drivers:

• Sandstone: Upgrade the Lords, Vanguard, Indomitable and Havilah camps to Indicated classification (40,000m RC+DD)
• Montague: Infill Montague and Whistler to Indicated classification (5,000m RC and 1,200m DD) – RC
• Greenfields: Follow up drilling of priority prospects across Sandstone Hub (West Hacks, Hancocks, Bulchina, Lords Corridor, Duplex) – recent drilling success includes exceptional intercepts at the Musketeer prospect yielding 10m @ 43.8 g/t gold

Management Team

Alex Rovira – Managing Director

Alex Rovira is a qualified geologist and an experienced investment banker having focused on the metals and mining sector since 2013. Rovira has experience in ASX equity capital markets activities, including capital raisings, IPOs and merger and acquisitions.

Richard Crookes – Non-executive Chairman

Richard Crookes has over 35 years’ experience in the resources and investments industries. He is a geologist by training having previously worked as the chief geologist and mining manager of Ernest Henry Mining in Australia.

Crookes is managing partner of Lionhead Resources, a critical minerals investment fund and formerly an investment director at EMR Capital. Prior to that he was an executive director in Macquarie Bank’s Metals Energy Capital (MEC) division where he managed all aspects of the bank’s principal investments in mining and metals companies.

Andrew Rich – Executive Director

Andrew Rich is a degree qualified mining engineer from the WA School of Mines and has obtained a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Rich has a strong background in underground gold mining with experience predominantly in the development of underground mines at Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) and Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX).

Ashley Fraser – Non-executive Director

Ashley Fraser is an accomplished mining professional with over 30 years experience across gold and bulk commodities. Fraser was a founder of Orionstone (which merged with Emeco in a $660-million consolidation) and is a founder/owner of Blue Cap Mining and Blue Cap Equities.

Jonathan Downes – Non-executive Director

Jonathan Downes has over 30 years’ experience in the minerals industry and has worked in various geological and corporate capacities. Experienced with gold and base metals, he has been intimately involved with the exploration process through to production. Downes is currently the managing director of Kaiser Reef, a high grade gold producer, and non-executive director of Cazaly Resources.

Dean Vallve – Chief Development Officer

Dean Vallve holds technical qualifications in geology & mining engineering from the WA School of Mines, an MBA, and a WA First Class Mine Managers Certificate. Vallve was previously in senior mining and study roles at ASX listed mid-cap resources companies Hot Chili (ASX:HCH) and Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI).

Nicky Martin – Chief Financial Officer

Nicky Martin is an experienced finance and accounting professional holding tertiary qualifications in accounting and finance and is a qualified CPA. Martin was previously the Head of Finance at Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) where she oversaw and was actively involved in a rapidly growing mining success story.

Arbitration and legal fallout

Barrick has already launched international arbitration proceedings at the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, as per a May 29 Reuters article.

The company has asked the tribunal to declare that its Malian subsidiaries are protected under longstanding mining conventions, which it argues are not subject to retroactive legislative changes. Mali, however, contends that the convention covering Loulo expired in April 2023, subjecting it to the updated mining code.

The arbitration tribunal has now been formally constituted, and Barrick has filed a request for provisional measures to prevent Mali from further intervening until the dispute is resolved.

A disputed settlement

In February 2024, a tentative settlement appeared close. According to Jeune Afrique, Barrick had agreed in principle to pay 225 billion West African CFA francs (roughly US$396 million) in instalments, recognize the new 2023 mining code and convert Mali’s 20 percent equity stake in Loulo-Gounkoto into “priority shares.”

The government would in turn release the seized gold and free the detained executives.

But the deal collapsed. A Malian negotiator later claimed Barrick had signed the “wrong” agreement and warned the government had “the right to take control of the mines” if the company failed to resume operations.

The ruling junta, led by Colonel Assimi Goïta, has made resource nationalism a hallmark of its post-coup economic strategy. Since coming to power in 2020, the military-led regime has shown a willingness to pressure foreign firms to comply with state priorities, especially in strategic sectors like mining.

The Loulo-Gounkoto dispute is now emblematic of the wider uncertainty surrounding foreign investment in Mali, a country where gold accounts for over 70 percent of export earnings.

Future implications

Loulo-Gounkoto is a cornerstone of Barrick’s global portfolio.

In 2023, the complex produced 723,000 ounces of gold, second only to Barrick’s Carlin mine in Nevada. It boasts remaining reserves of 7.3 million ounces, making it one of the largest high-grade gold systems in the world.

The financial implications of the shutdown are significant. Analysts warned in December that continued disruptions at the site could cut 11 percent from Barrick’s projected 2025 EBITDA.

Morningstar had earlier projected that Loulo-Gounkoto would contribute 250,000 ounces to Barrick’s output this year — an estimate now scrapped from the company’s 2025 guidance.

Further complicating matters, the permit for the Loulo section of the complex is set to expire in February 2025, just weeks after the six month provisional administration period ends. Barrick said it applied for a renewal four months ago, but has received no response from the government. The Gounkoto permit remains valid for another 17 years.

Barrick has said it remains committed to reaching a “mutually acceptable solution” and has appealed the court’s decision. But with no public comment from the Malian government and the provisional administrator now in place, a quick resolution appears unlikely.