Gold price tops $2,500 for first time on outlook for lower rates
Spot bullion climbed as much as 1.8% on Friday, exceeding the previous record set last month.
Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX, TSX: WGX) has significantly replenished the total gold reserves of its Bluebird-South Junction mine complex following the first estimation for South Junction, which serves as the primary ore source for the Bluebird processing hub and is expected to enter production this month.
South Junction was identified by the Western Australian gold miner as a priority growth opportunity following the results of initial drill testing of the project in early 2023. A drilling program was initiated in January 2024 aimed at extending and infilling South Junction.
Results to date have led to an initial reserve estimate of 225,000 oz. (2.6 million tonnes grading 2.7 g/t gold), representing a sizeable portion of the 277,000 oz. (3.0 million tonnes at 2.8 g/t gold) held at Bluebird-South.
Compared with Westgold’s 2023 year-end reserve count post depletion, the reserves at the Bluebird-South Junction mine complex have now increased by 233%, or 158,000 oz.
“A larger, more productive Bluebird-South Junction underground mine is a game changer for our Murchison business”
Westgold CEO Wayne Bramwell
The updated mineral resource also exceeded the company’s interim estimate in March 2024 by a further 130,000 oz. post depletion of 14,000 oz. This includes a 61% increase in the indicated resource category, for total measured and indicated resources of 4.7 million tonnes grading 3.1 g/t gold for 465,000 oz.
The Bluebird-South Junction complex is located in the regional town of Meekatharra, which encompasses Westgold’s central group of assets including several historic gold mining centres. These include the Bluebird underground mine, which returned to mining in the 2022 fiscal year. For the current fiscal year, the processing hub at Bluebird is expected to have a run rate of 1.2 million tonnes per annum.
“The maiden ore reserve for South Junction and the rapid expansion of the Bluebird-South Junction mining complex to a 1.2Mtpa run rate by Q3 FY25 has been a remarkable success story and underpins the value in drilling,” Westgold CEO Wayne Bramwell said in a news release.
“A larger, more productive Bluebird-South Junction underground mine is a game changer for our Murchison business. It will reduce the requirement and cost of road haulage of ore from Cue (circa 140 km) as the Bluebird-South Junction complex is within 2 km of the nearby Bluebird mill,” he added.
Bramwell also noted that his company will continue to invest in drilling across its portfolio in fiscal 2025. Two surface rigs and two underground drill rigs continue to extend and infill the Bluebird-South Junction mineral resource.
Westgold recently expanded its portfolio with the takeover of Canada’s Karora Resources (TSX: KRR), which owns the Beta Hunt and Higginsville gold mines, both located in the same region as the Bluebird mine.
The combined company now operates six underground mines and five processing plants across the Murchison and Southern Goldfields regions. Together, its tenure covers more than 3,200 sq. km., and its facilities have a combined processing capacity of approximately 6.6 million tonnes per annum.
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