Sept quarter: 31,218oz at A$2,005/oz AISC, KEP commissioned, A$508m cash, WA approvals pending
Capricorn produced 31,218oz of gold in the September 2026 quarter at an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,005/oz, up from A$1,648/oz but inside FY27 guidance of A$1,900-2,100/oz. The Karlawinda Expansion Project was finished on schedule and within budget, and cash was A$508.3m with no debt. Mt Gibson received federal approval but state approvals are still pending, and the exploration results are cited to an earlier 26 October release.
(price sensitive) - Capricorn Metals announced: "Quarterly Activities/Appendix 5B Cash Flow Report" (27 pages) - read the original
47Drill Score
47WeakPositive
Best intercept269.6 g-m3m @ 89.9g/t Au from 120m Excellent
Disclosure5 flags3 serious issues
Cash runwaySelf-funding$508m cash
Day-1 reaction-0.2%-0.3% vs the XGD
Gold on the dayA$5,763US$4,052/oz
What investors must know
Karlawinda produced 31,218oz in the quarter (Q4: 30,437oz), with 27,516oz sold at an average A$6,115/oz for A$168.3m of gold sales revenue.
AISC rose to A$2,005/oz from A$1,648/oz as earthmoving volumes increased ahead of the expanded operation; FY27 guidance of 137,000-147,000oz and A$1,900-2,100/oz AISC is unchanged.
Cash was A$508.3m at 30 September per Appendix 5B (A$535.0m including 4,442oz of gold on hand valued at A$26.8m), with no debt and no undrawn facilities.
A single FY26 income tax payment of A$90-100m is due in Q2 and a 5 cent fully franked final dividend (A$22.8m) was declared, so cash will fall in coming quarters.
Mt Gibson received federal EPBC approval; the WA Part IV environmental review document has been submitted and Part V approvals are lodged, so state approvals remain outstanding.
The resource (8.66Moz) and reserve (5.24Moz) figures are restated from 27 July 2026 and are not new in this report; the drill results are cited to a 26 October release.
The drill intercepts, normalised
Best hit270 gram-metresExcellent3m @ 89.9g/t Au from 120m in CMRC2552D
LowModestGoodReally goodExcellentStellar
1050100200500
Excellent - a genuinely strong hit by any ASX standard.
How this hit compares
Top 1%of ASX gold hits
Better than 99% of the 370 gold intercepts DrillScore has decoded in the past 12 months.
Top 2%at its depth
Among hits starting 0-150 m down-hole - open-pit reach: the cheapest ounces to mine - better than 98% of 141.
Holding upfor CMM
Best hit 270 g-m against an average of 282 g-m in the previous 2 drill results (1x).
Every gold hit DrillScore has decoded, by depth - this announcementCMM's drill results over time - best hit in each
How every hole did - one block per hole, coloured by its best hit
Excellent 2
Modest 4
2 of 6 holes reached 'good' or better (2 excellent); the other 4 were modest.
The holes, side by side - schematic, best hole first
Drag to rotate - scroll or pinch to zoom - right-drag or two fingers to pan - hover a block for the numbers
Each line is a hole drilled from the surface (top); each block is a reported interval at its down-hole depth, sized by its width and coloured by its rating. The holes are side by side for comparison, not at their real positions, and are drawn only as deep as their deepest reported interval. Hover a block for the numbers.
Every interval, in numbers
Every interval as metal-metres: width x grade (gram-metres for gold, %-metres for copper). Gold bands are Stockhead's rule of thumb: over 50 good, 100-200 really good, 200-500 excellent, beyond that stellar (and under 10, low). Top share is how much of an interval comes from its richest sub-interval - the smearing check.
Hole
From
Width
Grade
Metal-metres
Rating
Top share
Notes
CMRC2552D
120m
3m
89.9 g/t Au
269.6 g-m
Excellent
Hornet, text states CMRC2552D. Not covered by the 26 Oct Lexington...
CMRC2635D
371m
21.8m
9.54 g/t Au
208.3 g-m
Excellent
Orion South UG. Hole ID read from Figure 5 label, not in the text...
-
356m
3m
15.4 g/t Au
46.3 g-m
Modest
Orion South UG. Hole ID not stated. Newness not confirmed.
CMRC2540D
312m
7.8m
5.47 g/t Au
42.6 g-m
Modest
Orion South UG. Hole ID read from Figure 5 label, not in the text...
CMRC2524D
490m
10.1m
4.36 g/t Au
44.1 g-m
Modest
Orion South UG. Hole ID read from Figure 5 label, not in the text...
CMRC2553D
319m
12.2m
2.33 g/t Au
28.4 g-m
Modest
50%
Hornet, text states CMRC2553D. Newness not confirmed.
incl. CMRC2553D
319m
4m
3.57 g/t Au
14.3 g-m
Hornet, including sub-interval of the 12.18m intercept.
CMRC2552D
278m
14.5m
1.44 g/t Au
20.9 g-m
Modest
60%
Hornet, text states CMRC2552D. Newness not confirmed.
incl. CMRC2552D
283m
3.5m
3.55 g/t Au
12.4 g-m
Hornet, including sub-interval of the 14.5m intercept.
Checked against the PDF. Every interval above is printed in the announcement itself - each width and grade was found, together, in the PDF's own text.
Holes reported
? of 133 drilled
Metres drilled
37,243
Drilling
Diamond and RC (combined), as stated in the text
Cut-off grade
Minimum 1g/t Au over a minimum 1m interval (stated for Lexington and Orion South; not stated for Hornet)
Max internal dilution
Lexington up to 5.5m consecutive internal waste; Orion South up to 2m; Hornet not stated
True widths
Not stated - intervals are down-hole
Hole spacing
Extension and infill drilling down-dip and along strike of the Lexington-Hornet and Orion South lodes, below current reserve pit designs. No drill grid spacing is stated. Orion South drilling aims to upgrade Inferred resources to Indicated. A Western Lode position is reported with no grades.
Depth
Text says Lexington-Hornet intercepts run from about 260m to more than 840m down-hole. Intercepts listed here run from 120m to 500m down-hole. Vertical depths are not stated. Holes drilled: 88 at Lexington-Hornet (26,668m) and 45 at Orion South (10,575m), 133 holes and 37,243m in total.
Against the project's earlier holes
The Hornet 3.0m at 89.88g/t interval is the highest grade in the history supplied. The highest grade among the 25 best prior intercepts by gram-metres is 41.09g/t over 4m. The report gives no numeric comparison with earlier holes, and the 26 October Lexington release is not in DrillScore's database, so the Lexington grades (57.38g/t and 40.01g/t) cannot be compared here. On grade alone the quarter reads as stronger than the earlier history, but the report shows only a few intercepts.
Against similar explorers
For underground gold these grades are high, but the report lists only best intervals, so they cannot be set against a typical hole from this program. The full drill-hole table is needed before the program's overall quality can be judged.
Drill-hole table (collars, dip, azimuth, depth, every intercept)
Required for exploration results on a material project.
fail
JORC Table 1, Section 1 - sampling techniques and data
fail
JORC Table 1, Section 2 - reporting of exploration results
fail
Competent person statement
fail
No metal equivalents - grades as assayed
pass
Balanced reporting - low and high grades both shown
Only best or significant intercepts are listed. No nil or low results, no hole-by-hole list, and no hole count for the reported results, against 133 holes drilled. The Orion South Western Lode has high-grade intersections with no grades given. Interval rules are stated only for Lexington and Orion South.
fail
No visual estimates - assays only
pass
Down-hole widths only
Down-hole intervals can overstate how thick the mineralisation really is.
caution
Red flags and notes
No drill-hole table
The announcement does not give every hole's collar position, dip, azimuth, depth and result (including nil results), which the ASX expects for material exploration results.
JORC Table 1 not attached
JORC Table 1 sections 1 and 2 are missing - the ASX requires both with material exploration results.
Results look selectively reported
Only best or significant intercepts are listed. No nil or low results, no hole-by-hole list, and no hole count for the reported results, against 133 holes drilled. The Orion South Western Lode has high-grade intersections with no grades given. Interval rules are stated only for Lexington and Orion South.
No Competent Person statement
The JORC Code requires a Competent Person to take responsibility for exploration results, resources and reserves.
Newness of exploration results and Competent Persons cross-reference
The Competent Persons statement cites only the 26 October 2026 Lexington release for all exploration results. The Orion South and Hornet intercepts are not identified as previously released, and no Competent Person is named in the statement, so they may be new results without a drill-hole table, JORC Table 1 or a valid CP reference.
Down-hole widths only (true widths not stated)
Down-hole widths only. No true widths or true width estimates are given.
Production aspirations without a stated JORC basis
The Range 500 aspiration of 500,000oz a year within 5 years, and the claim of more than 400,000oz a year within 2.5 years of MGGP start, are forward-looking targets with no stated JORC basis. The 260,900oz a year figure rests on the 27 July PFS, which is cross-referenced rather than restated here.
Operating cash flow differs between narrative and Appendix 5B
The narrative gives operating cash flow of A$113.1m, but Appendix 5B item 1.9 shows A$84.5m. The report does not bridge the A$28.6m difference.
The 12-month column matches the quarter exactly (for example receipts 168,276 and operating cash flow 84,479), while the narrative gives FY26 sales revenue of A$769.3m and exploration of A$74.0m. The year-to-date column does not appear to be a 12-month total.
Quarters of funding from the Appendix 5B (item 8.7). Under 2 quarters the ASX requires the company to explain how it will fund itself.
Period ending
2026-09-30
Cash
$508m
Debt
$0
Undrawn facilities
$0
Operating cash flow (quarter)
$84.5m
Exploration spend (quarter)
$25.8m
Total outgoings (quarter)
$58.6m
Gold produced
31,218 oz
AISC
A$2,005/oz (margin about A$3,758/oz at the day's gold price)
Revenue
$168m
Guidance
FY27 production guidance of 137,000-147,000oz and AISC of A$1,900-2,100/oz, unchanged. KGP described as on track. Expanded KGP expected at about 150,000oz a year for the remaining three quarters of FY27.
Cash of A$508.3m is Appendix 5B items 4.6 and 8.4 and includes no gold. The headline cash and gold figure of A$535.0m adds 4,442oz of gold on hand valued at A$26.8m. Gold_oz is produced; sales were 27,516oz. Operating cash flow of A$84.5m (5B 1.9) differs from the A$113.1m in the narrative and is not reconciled. Investing outflow of A$80.9m includes A$45.5m PP&E, A$25.8m exploration and A$15.1m other non-current assets, offset by A$8.5m Big Springs cash proceeds, with A$3.0m invested in Sentinel. Item 8.7 is N/A because relevant outgoings are a net inflow, so funding_quarters is 99 by convention. The burn figure of 58.6m is a net inflow, not a cash burn. A$90-100m tax is due in Q2 and the A$22.8m final dividend was declared. Management says it can fund the MGGP build internally, which this report does not test with a cash flow forecast. All figures are A$; no US$ conversion is used.
Restated in this quarterly, first reported 27 July 2026, so not new here. Group MRE 348.9Mt at 0.8g/t for 8.66Moz at A$2,800/oz (Indicated 275.8Mt at 0.8g/t for 7.08Moz; Inferred 73.2Mt). Group ORE 195.7Mt at 0.8g/t for 5.24Moz at A$2,200-2,600/oz, with KGP ORE up 32% after depletion and MGGP open pit ORE up 21% from 2025. Maiden MGGP underground ORE of 5.0Mt at 2.3g/t for 365,000oz.
DrillScore has no recorded share price reaction to Capricorn's earlier price-sensitive news, so no past pattern can be drawn from this stock. The 27 July reserve update and the 31 July June quarterly were judged positive. The shares closed at A$13.54 before this release and were A$13.63 at the time of writing, a rise of about 0.7%, while the XGD gold index rose 3.9% over the same period. This describes past and recent movement only and does not predict the share price.
What share prices did after past results like this one, from DrillScore's own records. It describes the past: it isn't a forecast for CMM and it isn't advice.
Results scored like this'Weak' results Too few to say
Only 2 other drill results rated 'Weak' have traded so far - too few to show a pattern.
CMM's own record9 earlier announcements No clear lean
After its earlier announcements, CMM moved +1.0% by day 1, +0.6% by day 5 and -1.9% by day 20 against the XGD on average.
Day 1
+1.0%
Day 5
+0.6%
Day 20
-1.9%
9 results, against the XGD
The market it landed inXGD -8.0% in 20 days Leaned up
In the 20 trading days before this release the XGD gold index moved -8.0% (falling). After 34 past gold announcements released into a falling gold index, stocks moved +1.9% by day 1, +4.5% by day 5 and +11.4% by day 20 on average - before taking the market's own move out.
Day 1
+1.9%
Day 5
+4.5%
Day 20
+11.4%
34 results, raw moves
A strand leans up or down when its day-5 average is 1% or more either way. Each is shown on its own and never added up into a prediction: small samples swing, and every result is different. The full backtest - how it's worked out
At release gold was US$4,051.6/oz (about A$5,763/oz). Spot now is US$3,886.3/oz (about A$5,737/oz), so US gold fell 4.1% while A$ gold fell only 0.5%, because the AUD eased to US$0.6774 from US$0.703. Spot remains well above the A$5,500/oz used in the MGGP PFS economics, the A$6,115/oz realised in the quarter, and the A$2,200-2,800/oz used for reserves and resources, so margins at spot are wide against an AISC of A$2,005/oz. Sector mood was mixed since release: the ASX gold index XGD rose 3.9%, while GDX fell 2.8% and GDXJ fell 5.2%. Copper and silver are not material to Capricorn's gold business. No price forecast is made here.
Against CMM's own history
No new drill results are in DrillScore's history for this quarter, and the best prior intercept by gram-metres was CMRC2471 at 15m at 14.61g/t (219.2 g-m, excellent). Cash rose from A$504.8m at the June quarter to A$508.3m, while operating cash flow of A$84.5m is below the June quarter's A$135.1m. Gold production rose from 30,437oz to 31,218oz, but AISC rose from A$1,648/oz to A$2,005/oz. The company is debt free, self-funding, and has no capital raisings on record. DrillScore's database also logs 23 September and 5 October releases that already covered KEP completion and the 31,218oz September quarter output, so much of this quarterly is a repeat of earlier news.
Risks & caveats
AISC rose from A$1,648/oz in the June quarter to A$2,005/oz, and the company says mining rates will stay at similar levels next quarter.
Mt Gibson growth capital and the Q2 tax payment depend on WA approvals that are not yet granted, and no timetable is given for them.
Operating cash flow is A$113.1m in the narrative but A$84.5m in Appendix 5B item 1.9, and the report does not reconcile the two.
Gold prices have fallen since the release (US$ gold down 4.1%), so the cash margin depends on the gold price.
The drilling shown is a short list of best intervals, and the Orion South and Hornet results come without a drill-hole table or JORC Table 1.
What's next
Maiden Inferred underground Mineral Resource estimate for Lexington - Q2 FY27, as stated
Preliminary results of the Golden Range second processing hub (MGGP Stage 2) study - Later in Q2 FY27, as stated
Commissioning of the on-site core processing facility at Mt Gibson - November 2026, as stated
Further Mt Gibson assay results across the deposits - Q2 FY27, as stated
Final FY26 income tax payment of A$90-100m (cash outflow) - Q2 FY27, as stated
Remaining WA state approvals (Part IV and Part V) for Mt Gibson - not stated
Questions worth asking
What bridges the A$113.1m operating cash flow in the narrative to the A$84.5m in Appendix 5B item 1.9?
When are the WA Part IV and Part V approvals for Mt Gibson expected, and how much capital is committed before they are granted?
Are the Orion South and Hornet intercepts new, and when will a drill-hole table and JORC Table 1 be released for them?
How much of the A$2,005/oz AISC is earthmoving that will fall away as the expanded operation settles?
What will cash be after the A$90-100m tax payment and the A$22.8m final dividend are paid?
What it means
For someone following Capricorn, this quarter shows an operating business producing near its expanded rate, with costs higher than the prior quarter but still inside guidance, and a balance sheet with A$508m of cash and no debt. Cash will fall in coming quarters because of the A$90-100m tax payment and the final dividend, and the Mt Gibson growth case still depends on state approvals that are pending. The drill results shown are mostly a repeat of a 26 October release, and the newer Orion South and Hornet intercepts still need a drill-hole table and JORC Table 1 before they can be checked. This is general information, not personal financial advice.
General information only - not financial advice. DrillScore's analyses are produced automatically by an AI model (Claude, by Anthropic) from the company's own ASX announcement and public market data, and scored by a fixed formula (how it works). They can be wrong or incomplete, don't consider your objectives or circumstances, and are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold anything. Always read the original announcement and consider advice from a licensed adviser.
Decoded 15 Nov 2026, 8:17 am by claude-haiku-5-5 - confidence: medium. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
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