Catalyst Metals Limited (Catalyst or the Company) (ASX: CYL) has made an excellent start to gold production at the Henty Gold Mine (Henty) in Tasmania which it purchased on 20 January 2021 with positive operating cash flow achieved from Day 1.

Detailed mine planning indicates that this performance can be continued throughout calendar year 2021 and achieve estimated production of 25,000 ounces of gold.

Gold production for February and March 2021 totalled 4,839 ounces at a grade of 5.7g/t Au while achieving metallurgical recoveries of 95%, significantly higher than projected by pre-acquisition modelling.

This is a major improvement on the production achieved by the previous owner for the financial year to 19 January 2021 which showed grades of 3.23g/t Au and average metallurgical recoveries of 76.1%. Increased gold recoveries have been achieved by reviewing the management of the leach tank environment in the gold plant, including optimisation of the cyanide levels and tailings grades are now less than 0.27g/t Au.

In the 2 months and 12 days of production under Catalyst management, revenue from gold sales has totalled $11.5 million (unaudited) and C1 cash cost per ounce has reduced from $1,660 in February to $1,300 in March 2021. AISC costs per ounce are $1,875 and $1,515 for February and March 2021 respectively and these costs include the tailings dam expansion capital. The tailings dam wall uplift is almost complete and on budget and will provide an additional 3 years of production storage capacity.

The Henty Gold Mine recorded zero recordable injuries for the first quarter of 2021 and the Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) has continued to decline. An external audit on safety management systems has been undertaken and incremental changes are currently being implemented at the mine in line with Catalyst's requirements.

Exploration drilling is continuing underground and planning is in progress to commence surface exploration on the 25 kilometre strike length to the south and north of the Henty Mine with an initial focus on finding near mine resources within the existing mining leases.

Mr Bruce Robertson, Catalyst's Chief Executive Officer stated 'Catalyst has made an excellent start as a mine operator at Henty drawing upon the operational and technical experience of all involved during the transition. The business is performing well with a positive operating cash flow achieved since the acquisition.

Assuming Henty's strong performance continues into the future, this positive cash flow will enable selffunding or reinvestment in the future growth at the mine as well as providing funding towards exploration and development of the Company's projects in Victoria. The corporate, operational and technical experience obtained from Henty will contribute significantly towards more effectively evaluating and undertaking any potential future mine development in Victoria.'

Contact:

Steve Boston

Tel: +61 409 574 515

(C) 2021 Electronic News Publishing, source ENP Newswire