Australian miner Westgold sets target of half-a-million ounces production by 2029
ASX- and TSX-listed Westgold has updated its three-year production outlook, aiming to increase groupwide production from between 385000 oz and 425000 oz in the 2027 financial year to between 460000 oz and 510000 oz in the 2029 financial year.
The plan is underpinned by increased ore availability at the Murchison operation and expansions of the Cue and Meekatharra processing hubs. These investments will not only enable higher production but improve mill utilisation and reduce all-in sustaining costs to between A$2640/oz and A$3000/oz by the 2029 financial year.
All of Westgold's operations are based in Australia.
Notably, Westgold's three-year outlook represents a deliverable base case while preserving material upside from opportunities not yet included in the outlook. For example, the Fletcher zone at Beta Hunt mine is the largest organic growth opportunity within Westgold's portfolio and is not currently accounted for in the three-year outlook.
Once developed and supported by a larger Southern Goldfields processing hub, Fletcher could add 140000 oz/y to the group's production figure and take groupwide production to beyond 600 000 oz/y.
Westgold anticipates spending growth capital of between $450-million and $480-million over the next three years, as well as targeted exploration and resource definition drilling spending of between $50-million and $75-million across the Murchison and Southern Goldfields operations.
Westgold MD and CEO Wayne Bramwell says the company's capital investment programme, which is fully funded, reflects a deliberate decision to prioritise Murchison investment and use Westgold's strong balance sheet, improving reserve confidence and growing mining inventories to invest ahead of production.
"The 2027 financial year represents a peak investment year in the three-year outlook, with elevated non-sustaining capital directed to accelerated underground development, strategic ore inventories and the brownfield expansions of the Cue and Meekatharra processing hubs.
"Scale is not our primary driver. As these projects are delivered, yearly non-sustaining capital is expected to decline through the 2028 and 2029 financial years, with the benefits of these investments realised through higher production, improved mill utilisation rates, lower unit costs and stronger group free cashflow," Bramwell explains.
