With an extensive resource base in provinces that have significant pedigrees of operating history and production, Westgold Resources Limited has established a strong platform in which to build Australia’s next mid-tier gold producer, targeting production of 200,000 ounces per annum. Westgold Resources is an emerging developer and producer that have two major projects located within two geological provinces that havehistorical combined production in excess of 10 million ounces of gold.

In May of this year, Westgold Resources completed an off-market takeover of Aragon Resources Limited. The takeover was part of a clear strategy from the board of Westgold to bring forth the consolidation of 3.2 million ounces in resources of gold equivalent and two significant projects capable of bringing into production 200,000 ounces of gold per annum throughout the next five years.

Westgold resources’ key projects

“We are very fortunate to have two high-quality assets in well-known areas of proven historic production,” says Scott Huffadine, managing director of Westgold Resources Limited, who is a geologist with more than 18 years of experience in the resources industry, particularly in mining project management and geology. “We have high quality assets in the projects with a current low market evaluation relative to the overall grade of our resource base, which distinguishes us from many of our peers.”

The two key gold projects that Westgold Resources has in development are the Central Murchison Gold Project (CMGP) in Western Australia, which contains a two million ounce gold equivalent resource base in aggregate, and the Rover 1 Gold-Copper Project in the Northern Territory which contains a further 1.22million ounce gold equivalent resource. Consolidated, these two projects have a resource base of 3.0 million gold equivalent ounces, along with great potential for additional growth from within the current asset base. Both of these projects have significant underlying exploration potential, which leaves the company well positioned to bring the projects into production and build a project pipeline leveraging shareholder value from long life projects with established infrastructure.

At the Central Murchison Gold Project (CMGP), Westgold Resources is focused on the development and recommencement of production at the project which last operated at a gold Price of AUD$ 600. With a combined Total Identified Mineral Resource (JORC) estimate of 2.00M ounces, Westgold Resources plans to develop a centralisedmilling and integrated underground and open pit gold operation targeting a rate of 120,000 ounces per annum at full production over an initial 8 year mine life. 

Comprised of three proven goldfields – Big Bell, Day Dawn and Cuddingwarra – the CMGP covers approximately 33,000 hectares of the highly prospective greenstone terrain in the Murchison District, which has seen a renewed focus with resurgence in activity accompanied by a number of significant new gold and base metal discoveries in Australia.

This project also has an impressive history of production. “Our asset base in the Murchison Gold Field is in an area that’s historically operated throughout the last 100 years and it has produced more than five million ounces of gold from the tenements that the company owns, which is 40% of the total production from the region” Huffadine says.

The last phase of mining in the Central Murchison Gold Project ceased in 2003 at much lower gold prices than seen today, which has provided Westgold Resources with a prime opportunity to recommence mining.

Westgold’s other major project is its Rover Project, which is located adjacent to one of Australia’s top-five goldfields at Tennant Creek. The project is considered to be a southwestern extension to the Tennant Creek Goldfield, which has produced more than 5.5 million ounces of gold and 500,000 tonnes of copper.

“So we have the equivalent geology located 80 kilometresto the southwest of the historic Tennant Creek and the key development asset in that project is our Rover 1 Gold-Copper Project, which currently has  1.2 million ounces gold equivalent of JORC resource,” Huffadine says.

The Rover 1 Project is of great importance to Westgold, resembling many of the past and successful gold mines of the Tennant Creek Goldfield.

“Westgold has some very valuable assets in some very promising regions,” Huffadine says. “Both the Central Murchison Gold Project and the Rover 1 Gold-Copper Project in their own right are going to be significant producers once we move into production.”

Production

Although still in the development phase, Westgold Resources is in a prime position to soon become Australia’s next mid-tier gold producer. With the consolidation of the 3.2 million-resource base, Westgold Resources is poised to advance into production over the next 12 to 18 months.

“We have some great assets and there is a lot of work being done on taking them to the next level,” Huffadine says. “We have an enviable resource base in provinces that have significant pedigrees in terms of operating history and production and we have a great team working hard on advancing into production within the next 12 to 18 months.”