Suspended Bellevue wants to avoid any market surprises

The market had high hopes for the Bellevue Gold Project which aimed to achieve 250,000 ounces of gold production per year. Picture: AFP

Shares in embattled miner Bellevue Gold continue to be suspended from trading after it last week flagged a likely production downgrade to the market.

DataRoom understands that the reason behind the long delay for any update is because the miner is establishing a long-term forecast and plan for its Bellevue Gold to provide certainty to investors.

This will prevent any further market surprises down the track, say sources.

This column last week reported that fears were growing of a second equity raising for Bellevue Gold after it already surprised the market with a raise last year.

Sources said whether that occurred rested with the demands of Macquarie Capital, which provides its hedging arrangement and has been the company’s main lender.

The $1.5bn company last week said the trading halt would last until Friday and related to the gold production outcomes from a review and verification process for the Bellevue Gold Project, which may result in a production guidance downgrade.

It said that after the completion of the review it intended to make an announcement regarding production guidance for the 2025 financial year.

Bellevue Gold does not have high debt levels – it has about $100m of debt and $81m of cash ($19m net debt) – but it is more than $400m out of the money with its gold hedge book.

The market had high hopes for the Bellevue Gold Project, 40km north of Leinster in the Northern Goldfields region of Western Australia, which aimed to achieve 250,000 ounces of gold production per year.

Bellevue earlier this year said it was on track to reach a production rate of at least 200,000 ounces of gold per annum from early in the June 2025 quarter.

It revised lower its production growth forecast to 150,000 to 165,000 ounces compared with earlier forecasts of 165,000 to 180,000 ounces.