Horizon Minerals rounds up $175m from investors to turn Kalgoorlie’s Black Swan plant into gold

The West Australian

Written by Simone Grogan

The new owners of a nickel processing plant near Kalgoorlie that’s been unable to be revived since the Global Financial Crisis are raising $175 million to shift gears to better fortunes being found in gold.

West Perth-based Horizon Minerals was rattling the tin this week to raise cash for a $160m refurbishment of the long-shuttered Black Swan processing hub into a standalone gold operation by mid-2027.

The converted plant, which Horizon bought as part of its takeover of Poseidon Nickel in 2024, would be fed by ores from a proposed open pit mining operation named Burbanks and churn out about 100,000 ounces of the precious metal a year.

Since closing in 2009 and then being acquired by Poseidon Nickel — once chaired by Andrew Forrest — from Russia’s Norilsk Nickel in 2014, there have been several attempted restarts that have ultimately been thwarted by erratic prices.

New investment thematics linked to battery-powered electric vehicles have also seemingly not been enough to get a restart over the line. Nickel spent most of 2025 at about $US15,000 a tonne, but gained to more than $US17,000/t in January.

Horizon announced the fully underwritten placement on Tuesday, putting up about 162 million new shares to institutional and sophisticated investors at $1.08, about a 12.6 per cent discount on its last close price.

Studies for the new operation released to the market at the same time by listed WA contractor GR Engineering concluded a suite of structural, mechanical and electrical upgrades would need to be completed to get the ageing plant fit for purpose.

The proposed operation — which would have about a five-year mine life — assumes a gold price of $5500/oz and calculates all-in sustaining costs at $3353/oz.

Managing director and chief executive Grant Haywood said the studies supported Horizon’s visions of becoming a “meaningful, independent WA gold producer”.

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

Horizon Minerals stock remains in a trading halt and last changed hands at $1.24. The company poured first gold from its Boorara project, about 10km east of the Super Pit, in January 2025. Horizon sold 3689oz of gold during the December quarter.

Read the article on The West Australian here