Vertex Minerals Limited (VTX.AX) Quarterly Report - Secures Approvals for Extended Underground Operations at Reward

Perth, Oct 30, 2026 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) (VTXXF:OTCMKTS) announced its Quarterly Activities Report for the quarter ended 30 September 2026.

The September 2026 quarter was a turning point for the Reward Gold Mine. On 20 August 2026, Bathurst Regional Council approved the Company's DA Modification to allow 24-hour underground operations and blasting at any time within approved limits. In September 2026, the NSW Environment Protection Authority issued a varied EPL 12008 to align with that approval. Together, these approvals remove the restricted working and blasting hours that have been the single largest constraint on the mine since operations recommenced.

During the quarter the Company also fired its first mechanised long hole stope at Decline 3, fitted Muki rails to both jumbos to enable narrower development, and released an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for Reward. On the corporate front, the Share Purchase Plan closed and the independent expert review of the Company's historical Listing Rule compliance progressed.

Gold production during the quarter remained constrained by the previous single-shift operating conditions and by jumbo downtime in July while the Muki rails were fitted. Ore from the first long hole stope was processed from August 2026.

HIGHLIGHTS FOR QUARTER

Operations - Underground Mining

- Bathurst Regional Council approved the Company's development consent modification (DA Modification) on 20 August 2026, permitting 24-hour underground operations and removing the fixed 9:00am-3:00pm firing window that had constrained the Reward mining cycle since operations recommenced.

- The NSW EPA issued a varied Environment Protection Licence (EPL 12008) in September 2026, aligning the licence with the DA Modification. With both approvals in place, available underground working hours increase from approximately 9 hours to approximately 22 hours per day, using the equipment already on site.

- First production firing of the Company's trial long hole open stope at Decline 3 (620 M1 STP 1695N), targeting the high-grade Mica 1 lens at a mining width of approximately 1.2 metres - the first mechanised stope at Reward.

- Muki rail sets fitted to both the Epiroc T1D and Atlas Copco H104 jumbos, enabling smaller drive profiles expected to reduce dilution by more than 20% for the same cut length.

- Breakthrough of the 640_PX_DRN_1380N drive, providing conventional loader access to high-grade ore from the 677 Paxtons South airleg stoping block.

- Second Bird underground truck arrived in New South Wales and fitted with MDG 15 modifications; truck arrived onsite 13 October 2026.

- Construction of the Resemin Muki long hole production rig was completed in the factory on 30 September 2026 and is inbound to Australia and is due to arrive at port in Sydney Mid November 2026.

Processing

- Gold sold during the quarter was 142 oz, with 82 oz of gold on hand on 30 September 2026.

- Ore from the first long hole stope began processing through the Gekko gravity plant in August 2026. Mill recovery for the quarter was 62%.

- Under the varied EPL, the processing plant is licensed to operate from 6:00am to 6:00pm, 7 days per week.

Corporate

- Updated JORC (2012) Mineral Resource Estimate for the Reward Gold Mine of 274,000t at 16.68 g/t Au for 146,900 oz (2 September 2026, amended 10 September 2026), with the Indicated grade up 36% to 21.17 g/t Au and total contained ounces down 35% on the June 2023 estimate.

- Share Purchase Plan closed on 27 July 2026, raising $858,000 (before costs).

- Historical breaches of ASX Listing Rules 7.1 and 7.1A and related rules:

o Appointment of HWLE Lawyers as independent expert (VTX announcement 23 July 2026);

o Receipt of independent expert's report dated 3 September 2026 ("Report");

o The Company summarised the key findings and recommendations of the Report and disclosed the steps the Company proposes to take in response to the Report (VTX) announcement 30 September 2026); and

o The Company is not subject to any ASX imposed restrictions on issuing equity securities without first seeking shareholder approval and confirms that the ASX's decision (VTX announcement 9 May 2025) in relation to the historical placement capacity breaches expired on 4 January 2026.

- Recruitment under way for approximately 10 additional roles to support the commencement of nightshift, drawn predominantly from the Bathurst region.

Tenements and Exploration

- No exploration field activities were undertaken during the quarter.

- The Mineral Resource re-interpretation defined three priority underground drill target areas: depth extensions below the existing Resource, Hawkins Hill remnants in the upper levels, and the Fosters corridor to the south. Underground diamond drilling is planned to commence in the first quarter of 2027.

Vertex Minerals Executive Chairman, Bruce McInnes, commented:

"The September quarter will be remembered as the quarter in which the single biggest constraint on the Reward Gold Mine was removed. With Bathurst Regional Council's approval of our DA Modification on 20 August and the NSW EPA's issue of a varied Environment Protection Licence in September, Reward is now authorised to operate underground 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

"It is important that shareholders understand just how severely the previous operating conditions held the mine back. Under the original consent, every underground blast had to be fired between 9:00am and 3:00pm, six days a week, with no firing on Sundays or public holidays. Every face in the mine had to be bogged, supported, drilled and charged in time to fire inside that single six-hour window. A heading that missed the window could not be fired until the next day, and the cycle on that face lost a full 24 hours."

"Re-entry and ventilation clearance after each firing fell in the middle of the day shift, consuming the most productive hours. Our jumbos, remote-controlled Aramine loaders and underground trucks are available around the clock, but they could only be worked effectively for around 9 hours a day. In practical terms, the mine operated at a fraction of the capacity of its people, its equipment and its orebody."

"The consequences flowed straight through to production. Development metres, which are the primary driver of ore production, were held back. Fewer stopes could be brought on line. Ore was delivered to the plant in an uneven, batch-driven pattern. And our largely fixed cost base was spread across far fewer tonnes than the operation is capable of. The restricted hours and blasting times, together with the poor ground conditions encountered when rehabilitating declines that had been flooded for around 14 years, are the main reasons the production ramp-up at Reward has been slower than the Company planned."

"Securing the change took approximately 12 months of work with Bathurst Regional Council, including a deferral of the determination from mid-July to mid-August. I thank Council, the NSW EPA, our team and the Hill End community for their engagement throughout the process. All blasting under the new approvals is carried out underground, within strict vibration and overpressure limits that are tighter at night and is monitored in real time."

"Available underground working hours now lift from approximately 9 to approximately 22 hours a day, using the same equipment already on site. Alongside this, the quarter delivered our first mechanised long hole stope at a mining width of approximately 1.2 metres, narrower development profiles through the new Muki rails, and an updated Mineral Resource that has lifted the Indicated grade by 36% to 21.17 g/t Au and defined clear targets for underground drilling."

"Our priorities for the December quarter are to recruit and train our nightshift crews, move progressively from one shift to two shifts and then to continuous operations, and commission the Muki long hole rig. For the first time, Reward has the approvals, the mining method and the equipment in place to build development metres and stope availability ahead of the plant."

*To view the full Quarterly Report, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/UCCB4211

About Vertex Minerals Limited

Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) is an Australian based gold exploration company developing its advanced Hargraves and Hill End gold projects located in the highly prospective Eastern Lachlan Fold Belt of Central West NSW. Other Company assets include the Pride of Elvire gold project and Taylors Rock gold/nickel/lithium project both located in the Eastern Goldfields of WA. The focus of Vertex Minerals is to advance the commercial production of gold from its NSW projects embracing an ethical and environmentally sustainable approach.

  

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