Miner Regis Resources has slid further into the red after its plans for a $1 billion gold project in NSW were scuppered by a federal protection order.

Regis reported a net loss of $186 million for the 2023/24 financial year, which was much worse than the $24.3 million loss booked in the previous year.

CEO Jim Beyer said the bottom line full-year result was impacted by the “very significant negative impact” of the decision on the McPhillamys Gold Project site in the NSW central west.

The overall outcome was somewhat offset by the end of Regis’ gold hedge book, which allowed it to take advantage of a higher spot gold price in the second half of the year.

The company’s underlying earnings totalled $421 million in the 12 months ended June 30, up from $402 million in 2022/23.

Cash flow from operating activities reached a record $457 million while gold sales totalled $1.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion.

The section 10 protection order was made by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek on Friday to protect Indigenous heritage at the McPhillamys site.

Regis on Wednesday confirmed the decision on the open-cut mine rendered the project “unviable”.

It wrote down the value of the project by $192 million and withdrew its 1.89 million-ounce assessment of ore reserves at the site.

“Regis has commenced an assessment of the impacts on the economic value of our business,” Mr Beyer said in a statement to the stock exchange on Wednesday.

“The section 10 order declaration has resulted in the loss of planned access … this has made the project in its current form unviable.”

The action by Ms Plibersek came despite the NSW Independent Planning Commission in 2023 approving the company’s mining application, which was opposed by some in the local Aboriginal community.

The Indigenous-heritage protection declaration covers part of the Belubula River, which falls within the footprint of a proposed storage facility for cast-off material.

Regis said there were no immediate options for the tailings storage facility and that the development of any alternatives could take between five and 10 years, with no certainty it would be approved.

However, Mr Beyer said Regis was still considering its legal options to fight Ms Plibersek’s decision.

In the meantime, it’s disappointed that the flow-on effects of the decision will result in job losses in Blayney as well as royalties and tax revenue losses.

Regis was planning for an 11-year operation in the Blayney-Kings Plains district, near Bathurst, that would deliver almost 1000 jobs.

NSW Natural Resources Minister Courtney Houssos said this week the mine was strategically important to the state.

“Protecting heritage and progressing key mining projects should not be a zero-sum proposition,” she said.

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This post was originally published on Michael West.