Finnish manufacturer Metso has confirmed orders from Australian-based gold miner Emerald Resources for €10 million (A$16 million) worth of grinding mills after Emerald said earlier this month it was paying about A$30 million for two 8000kW Metso mills plus a crushing circuit for its proposed Dingo Range and Memot gold projects.
Emerald, which has an existing cash-generating gold mine in Cambodia and circa-$400 million at hand (as at the end of March this year), said the pre-orders for Dingo Range and Memot underlined its “confidence in the development” of both new ventures. They are still the focus of feasibility studies.
Emerald previously bought a semi-autogenous grinding mill and other equipment from Metso (via Outotec) for its greenfield Okvau mine, now a c105,000oz-a-year gold producer. Okvau had produced more than 450,000oz at an average AISC of US$887/oz to the end of December 2025 from its commissioning in September 2021.
“The [Dingo Range and Memot] SAG mills are expected to be supplied in circa 12-13 months and represent the key long lead capital item that dictates the timing of first gold from both projects, which are fully licenced and funded for development,” Emerald management said on May 6.
“Emerald is pleased to strengthen its long-term partnership with Metso,” managing director Morgan Hart said this week.
“Securing this long-lead capital equipment on a competitive delivery schedule is a critical step in advancing both Dingo Range and Memot projects toward gold production. These investments support our strategic objective of becoming a plus-300,000oz-per-annum multi-mine gold producer across two continents.”
Metso is one of the world’s major manufacturers and suppliers of large horizontal grinding mills.
ASX-listed Emerald has a current market value of about $3.8 billion.
