Karlawinda gold Q2 performance: mine scheduling and plant notes for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda gold project in Western Australia delivered strong December quarter output, positioning the operation to hit the upper end of its FY26 production guidance. The single-open-pit, carbon-in-leach operation near Newman has been running consistently above nameplate throughput on its 5 Mtpa processing plant, with stable mill availability and recoveries. Management signals that mine scheduling and grade control in the Bibra pit are supporting sustained ore feed quality, with further optimisation of drilling and blasting planned into 2026.
Technical Brief
- For similar single-pit mining operations, Karlawinda illustrates the efficiency of a simple, centralised CIL flowsheet.
Our Take
Within the 166 gold‑tagged pieces in our database, Karlawinda is one of relatively few Australian projects flagged as tracking towards the upper end of guidance into the 2026 financial year, which tends to support a lower perceived operating‑risk profile for Capricorn Metals among local producers.
For Australia‑based gold operations, sustained outperformance at a single asset like the Karlawinda gold project often underpins debt capacity and hedging flexibility; this suggests Capricorn Metals may have more room than peers to lock in margins if price volatility returns over 2025–26.
Across the 510 Mining stories, most gold coverage has centred on development or cost pressure, so a project finishing 2025 strongly and guiding positively into FY2026 positions Capricorn Metals as an outlier that could attract attention from institutional investors looking for operationally de‑risked Australian gold exposure.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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