Westgold declares maiden ore reserve at third Beta Hunt deposit that boosts expansion potential
ASX- and TSX-listed Westgold Resources has declared a maiden ore reserve and updated mineral resource estimate for the Fletcher deposit, as one of three major mineralised systems within Westgold's Beta Hunt mining complex at Kambalda, in Western Australia.
Westgold has defined an ore reserve of 13.5-million tonnes grading 2.6 g/t gold, for 1.1-million ounces contained, which establishes a substantial new mineable inventory at Beta Hunt.
In turn, Fletcher's mineral resource has increased by about 30% to 40.1-million tonnes grading 2.3 g/t gold, for three-million ounces contained. Notably, the deposit's indicated mineral resource increased by 426% from a prior estimate to 1.55-million ounces grading 2.7 g/t.
About 74% of the updated indicated mineral resource ounces have been converted into the maiden ore reserves for Fletcher, which materially enhances the confidence and potential scale for the Fletcher deposit to become a third mining front at Beta Hunt.
The total Beta Hunt ore reserve now stands at 21.7-million tonnes grading 2.34 g/t gold for 1.6-million ounces, and a total mineral resource of 74.6-million tonnes grading 2.25 g/t gold, for 5.4-million ounces, representing a 201% increase in the total project ore reserve and a 104% increase in the total mineral resources since Westgold acquired the project in August 2024.
The company explains that Fletcher now underpins the company's assessment of a four-million-tonne-a-year processing facility, with a definitive feasibility study being advanced in this regard.
The company is also evaluating a planned 2.6-million-tonne-a-year expansion at the existing Higginsville plant.
Westgold is currently mining from two established mining fronts at Beta Hunt, with mine output poised to increase from 1.7-million tonnes a year to two-million tonnes a year during the 2027 financial year. This planned uplift excludes any contribution from the emerging Fletcher and Mason orebodies.
EXPANSION CONTEXT
When Westgold approved the Higginsville expansion plan in March, the 2.6-million-tonne-a-year flowsheet was deliberately engineered to support a potential future expansion to four-million tonnes a year, ensuring milling capacity would not constrain growth from Beta Hunt and Fletcher.
The increased Fletcher scale now provides a stronger ore reserve and mineral resource base from which to assess that larger four-million-tonne-a-year case in detail.
As a result, Westgold has accelerated definitive design work on a four-million-tonne-a-year expansion case and is reviewing the optimal timing and scope of the previously approved 2.6-million-tonne-a-year stage. This does not reflect a reduction in confidence in Higginsville, rather, it reflects a higher-confidence production base at Beta Hunt and Fletcher, and an opportunity to simplify the expansion pathway by assessing whether a direct four-million-tonne-a-year development provides a better long-term outcome than a staged 1.6-million-tonne-a-year to 2.6-million-tonne-a-year to four-million-tonne-a-year sequence.
