Vault Minerals advances its growth pipeline and Regis merger

About Vault Minerals

Vault Minerals Limited (ASX: VAU) is an Australian-listed gold producer formed through the merger of Silver Lake Resources and Red 5. It operates three production centres, the Leonora district and Mount Monger in Western Australia, and Deflector  alongside the Sugar Zone project in Ontario, Canada. As at 12 June 2026 the company had a market capitalisation of around A$4,149 million, with 1,035 million shares on issue and an enterprise value of approximately A$3,420 million.

FY26 investment to deliver a stronger operating base

Vault framed FY26 as a year of elevated, largely non-recurring investment to strengthen the long-term competitiveness of its assets. Consolidated production guidance is 332,000–360,000 ounces, with Leonora guided at 185,000–200,000 ounces, Mount Monger at 75,000–82,000 ounces and Deflector at 72,000–78,000 ounces. The company reported it is on track to deliver into guidance, with year-to-date production of 306,542 ounces to 31 May.

Consolidated capital expenditure is guided at A$278 million, led by A$178 million at Leonora, with a further A$30 million of exploration. Near-term capital is elevated by the King of the Hills (KoTH) plant expansion, around 70% of which is weighted to FY26, and by the transition to an owner-operator model at Deflector to improve cost control and operational flexibility.

A three-year growth outlook

The company set out a three-year production outlook rising from the FY26 base to 360,000–390,000 ounces in FY27 and 370,000–400,000 ounces in FY28, an increase of around 18% by FY28 driven primarily by the Leonora district. Growth is sourced from a wholly owned ore reserve of 4.0 million ounces and a mineral resource of 12.2 million ounces, as reported in the September 2025 statement.

Capital expenditure is expected to reduce significantly in FY27 and again in FY28 as major investment phases complete. Vault also highlighted embedded, low-capital-intensity brownfield options across the portfolio, and noted its growth profile coincides with strong leverage to the gold price, with its hedge book limited to 10,233 ounces for delivery in the first quarter of FY27.

Leonora and the KoTH mill upgrade

Leonora is positioned as a cornerstone long-life operation, with a base-case 18-year ore-reserve-backed mine life and the dominant processing facility in the district. The KoTH open pit holds a 2.2-million-ounce ore reserve adjacent to the mill, supplemented by underground, Darlot underground and stockpile feed.

The mill upgrade is progressing in two stages. Stage 1, a new crushing circuit, was commissioned in March and is regularly achieving rates above the 8 million-tonne-per-annum run-rate target. Stage 2, which will lift throughput to 7.5–8.0 million tonnes per annum, has all major equipment including the ball mill on site, with completion scheduled for October 2026 ahead of schedule and on budget. The expansion is set to deliver around 34% production growth and supports targeted rates of about 235,000 ounces per annum.

Mount Monger, Deflector and Sugar Zone

At Mount Monger, ore reserves of 629,000 ounces support a base-case nine-year processing life, with a declining strip ratio and rising grades at the Santa open pits expected to grow cash margins, and the Rumbles open pit and Mount Belches underground offering further upside. At Deflector, the transition to owner-operator mining was implemented in the second quarter of FY26, access to the high-grade Spanish Galleon front has been established for stoping in the first quarter of FY27, and exploration along the Gullewa corridor around 7 kilometres away is targeting new feed sources.

The Sugar Zone project in Ontario remains on track for a first-quarter FY28 restart. Vault submitted a Closure Plan Amendment on 9 June 2026 following technical review and First Nations consultation, a key regulatory milestone, with mining to recommence on a development-only basis for nine to twelve months ahead of production. The project carries a 389,000-ounce ore reserve and is planned to average 50,000 ounces a year over seven years.

Proposed merger with Regis Resources

Vault is progressing a proposed merger with Regis Resources, announced on 5 May 2026, via a scheme of arrangement under which Regis would acquire 100% of Vault. Vault shareholders would receive 0.69472 new Regis shares for each Vault share, leaving Regis shareholders with around 51% and Vault shareholders around 49% of the combined company. The merged group would continue as Regis Resources, headquartered in Perth and listed on the ASX, creating a senior producer of more than 700,000 ounces a year with a debt-free balance sheet. The scheme is unanimously recommended by the Vault board, subject to no superior proposal and an independent expert concluding it is in shareholders’ best interests, with implementation targeted for August or September 2026.

Conclusion

The update underscores a transitional year for Vault Minerals, with heavy near-term investment laying the groundwork for materially lower capital, growing production and stronger cash margins from FY27. Combined with a debt-free balance sheet, a sizeable reserve and resource base and the proposed Regis merger, the company is positioning for scale and full gold-price leverage outcomes that will ultimately depend on project delivery, exploration results, regulatory approvals and prevailing market conditions.