Minerals 260 Shares Jump 10% As Bullabulling Gold Project Advances Toward 2028 Production In Western Australia

PERTH, Australia — Shares of Minerals 260 Ltd. climbed $0.085, or 10.37%, to $0.905, continuing an extraordinary run for the West Australian gold developer as its flagship Bullabulling Gold Project progresses rapidly toward a targeted final investment decision and first production by the end of 2028.

Tuesday's gain adds to what has already been one of the most dramatic re-ratings on the ASX over the past year, with the company's market capitalization surging from roughly $30 million to more than $1.4 billion, according to StockAnalysis.com, driven almost entirely by the transformation of its Bullabulling project since the company acquired it in April 2025.

Minerals 260, which listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in October 2021 following a demerger from Liontown Resources, is based in West Perth and holds a broader portfolio that includes the Moora Project, Aston Lithium, the Koojan JV lithium, uranium and rare earth project, Dingo Rocks and Yalwest. But it is Bullabulling, located roughly 25 kilometers southwest of Coolgardie in Western Australia's historic goldfields region, that has driven the overwhelming majority of investor interest in the stock.

Bullabulling's resource base has expanded dramatically since Minerals 260 acquired the project, growing from an initial 2.3 million ounces at acquisition to 4.5 million ounces by December 2025, before a further updated Mineral Resource Estimate published in July 2026 lifted the figure by 38% to 190 million tonnes grading 1.0 grams per tonne gold for 6.2 million ounces. According to Mining Weekly, roughly 71% of that resource is now classified in the higher-confidence indicated category, a significant increase reflecting the extensive drilling program the company has undertaken across the project's five key deposits: Dicksons, Phoenix, Bacchus, Kraken and Gibraltar.

Speaking at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum in August, Minerals 260 highlighted the scale of the project's transformation over roughly a year of aggressive drilling and development work.

"Bullabulling is now 6.2 million ounces. We have a maiden Ore Reserve of 2.5 million ounces. We've completed the PFS," the company told the conference, according to a transcript reviewed by Investing.com.

The project's pre-feasibility study, published in July, outlined a substantial development case for Bullabulling. According to Mining Weekly, the PFS envisions production of 150,000 ounces of gold annually from a five-million-tonne-per-year processing plant, operating over a 19-year mine life at all-in sustaining costs of A$2,520 per ounce. The study estimated a post-tax net present value of A$2.3 billion and an internal rate of return of 43%, with a two-year payback period and projected annual free cash flow of A$330 million alongside earnings of A$510 million.

Minerals 260 managing director Luke McFayden described the project's trajectory in comments accompanying the July resource update.

"Bullabulling is firmly established as one of Australia's premier gold development projects and our strategic objective of creating a large-scale operation by the end of 2028 continues to progress rapidly," McFayden said.

The company has continued to strengthen its funding position to support the project's development. In February, Minerals 260 struck an expanded agreement with royalty and streaming company Franco-Nevada, increasing Franco-Nevada's royalty interest in Bullabulling from 1% to 2.45%, reducing to 1.63% after cumulative production of four million ounces. As part of the same transaction, Franco-Nevada subscribed for approximately 111.1 million Minerals 260 shares at A$0.45 per share, providing the company with additional capital support while reducing its future reliance on traditional debt financing.

Drilling has continued at pace throughout 2026, with the company reporting 839 holes totaling 185,045 meters completed at Bullabulling since acquiring the project, according to Mining.com.au. Five drill rigs remained active on site as of the most recent update, with work focused on further resource growth, regional exploration across the project's expanded 1,160-square-kilometer tenure package, and broader production readiness activities.

The company has already begun early construction work ahead of a formal final investment decision, including development of worker accommodation village infrastructure and water bore drilling, funded through an estimated A$180 million in pre-FID capital requirements. According to Mining Magazine Australia, Minerals 260's next exploration phase is focused on three priorities: continued resource growth around existing deposits, regional target generation across the broader tenure package, and operational readiness ahead of eventual production.

A definitive feasibility study and final investment decision for Bullabulling are both targeted for the first quarter of 2027, according to the company's latest guidance, with an additional mineral resource update also planned to incorporate ongoing drilling results from the Phoenix, Bacchus and Kraken deposits specifically.

Analyst sentiment toward the stock has remained broadly positive, with Investing.com noting an average 12-month price target of A$0.923 among covering analysts earlier this year, alongside a "Strong Buy" consensus rating. The stock's 52-week range has spanned from a low of A$0.10 to a high near A$0.92, reflecting the dramatic re-rating the shares have undergone as Bullabulling has progressed from an early-stage exploration asset toward a fully de-risked, near-production gold development project.

With Tuesday's gain extending Minerals 260's remarkable run over the past year, investors will likely continue watching closely for further updates on the company's definitive feasibility study, additional resource upgrades expected around Phoenix, Bacchus and Kraken, and progress toward the targeted final investment decision in early 2027, as Bullabulling continues its rapid transformation into what the company has positioned as one of Australia's largest and most significant undeveloped gold projects heading toward first production by the end of 2028.