Emmerson JV partner kicks off gold production at Tennant Creek

Emmerson Resources Ltd (ASX:ERM) has announced the commencement of gold production at joint venture partner Tennant Mining’s 840,000 tonne per annum CIL gold processing facility in the Northern Territory.

Production from the facility – which is located 14 kilometres southeast of Tennants Creek – is currently built around deposits owned by Tennant Mining, which is itself a subsidiary of Pan African Resources (AIM: PAF).

As yet, it has not been determined when future processing from deposits falling under the JV will occur, with this likely to impact royalty payments.

However, Emmerson stressed that if Tennant failed to produce 60,000 ounces from the JV tenures by mid-May 2026, it would be required to make Minimum Production Payments, which would equal the 6% gross production royalty on any production shortfall (i.e. 60,000 ounces less gold produced from the JV tenements).

The minimum production shortfall is expected to be between 57,500 and 60,000 ounces (depending on actual production levels achieved by mid-March and mid-May 2026), and this will result in payment of approximately $18 million, payable to ERM in staged payments between April and August 2026.

Emmerson managing director Mike Dunbur offered his congratulations to the Tennant Mining and Pan African Resources teams for reaching commercial gold production at the facility.

“To achieve commercial gold production just four and a half years after signing the exploration Joint Venture with Emmerson and securing a number of other leases in their own name in the Tennant Creek district is a fantastic achievement,” he said.

“We look forward to working with the expanded team as development of the JV owned
gold deposits is undertaken in the coming years and look forward to receipt of the 6% uncapped gross gold production royalty from the Small Mines JV deposits.”

Emmerson shares rose after the news, and at 12:25 AEST, they were trading at 13.2 cents – a rise of 1.92% since the market opened.

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