ASX-listed Savannah Goldfields said on Friday it is on track to resume gold production at its Georgetown gold processing plant in Far North Queensland, with the first gold pour scheduled for the first week of November.

All restorative maintenance works at the Georgetown plant had been completed on time, within budget, and without incident, the company said. The crushing circuit was operational, and about 3 500 t of crushed mill feed was now stockpiled and ready for processing, with crushing operations ongoing.

Savannah has also completed the transport of 9 500 t of ore from its Agate Creek and Charters Towers sites to the Georgetown plant, while the elution and electrowinning circuits have been successfully recommissioned. The company plans to cycle all current carbon stocks through the elution circuit before the first smelt.

“We have moved quickly to be ready to resume gold production operations and we all look forward to the first gold pour milestone,” said CEO Brad Sampson. “I wish to extend my thanks to our maintenance contractors who completed the planned restorative maintenance works without incident and on time.”

Milling operations and gold recovery in the carbon-in-pulp plant are also planned to restart before the end of the first week in November.

Meanwhile, openpit mining at the Big Reef deposit is expected to begin later in November, targeting up to 18 000 t of feed for the Georgetown plant this year.

Savannah is also finalising an amendment to the Agate Creek Environmental Authority to allow for expanded mining activity, with mining and processing of Agate Creek ore scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2026.

The company continues to advance its “hub-and-spoke” strategy, with Georgetown positioned as a regional processing hub. Located about 480 km south-west of Cairns, the Georgetown facility is the only operating gold plant within a 400 km radius and is surrounded by numerous stranded gold deposits and historic workings.

Savannah said the plant’s ownership offered opportunities for joint ventures and third-party toll treatment, and discussions were under way with several small-scale miners in the area interested in processing material through the plant.

Work is also progressing on the design of a sulphide processing stream, enabling the plant to treat deeper sulphide ores that were previously uneconomic.