Business News | Horizon raises $175m for plant conversion

Business News

Written by Jack McGinn

Horizon Minerals will raise $175 million to fully fund its refurbishment and redevelopment of the Black Swan processing hub in the Goldfields.

Horizon announced a fully underwritten two-stage capital raising early on Tuesday, with shares to be issued at $1.08 each to institutional and sophisticated investors across two tranches.

A non-underwritten share purchase plan will be carried out in tandem and capped at $10 million. 

The funds will be largely used to refurbish Black Swan and convert it to a gold processing operation. 

Horizon, which is already a gold producer, acquired Black Swan in its merger with Poseidon Nickel in 2025. 

It has long aspired to convert the facility to a gold processing operation, processing ore from its Boorara mine. 

The capital raise came with a scooping study which supported that plan, outlining a plant processing 2.2 million tonnes per annum of material over a five year mine life, which would generate around 102,000 ounces of gold per annum. 

Horizon is targeting first ore from the plant in mid-2027 and will produce at an all-in sustaining cost of $3,353 per ounce – among the higher cost producers on the ASX.

The company said its economics were robust at an assumed gold price of $5,500 per ounce, and the project would pay itself off within 18 months from the start of commissioning. 

Gold is currently trading above $7,000 per ounce.

Horizon managing director and chief executive Grant Haywood said the company had upscaled its processing plans at Black Swan from an initial target of 1.5Mtpa.

Mr Haywood said there was potential for its brownfields Burbanks project resource to grow and add more ounces to the Black Swan mix.

“The project’s solid outcomes and capital efficiency highlights the project’s leverage to the current gold price environment whilst remaining resilient under conservative gold price assumptions,” he said.

“We look forward to executing the plan with construction at Black Swan estimated to commence mid-2026.

“In parallel, we will prepare the mines for operational readiness and carry out other infrastructure works with the aim of being online for mill commissioning in mid-2027.”

Petra Capital is acting as sole lead manager, bookrunner and underwriter to the placement, with Euroz Harleys acting as co-manager.

Steinepreis Paganin is acting as Australian legal adviser to Horizon on both the placement and SPP. 

Horizon shares were flat at 11.20am, at $1.23.

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