Westgold Resources: Is an expansion of the expansion on the cards?
Westgold Resources Managing Director Wayne Bramwell on 3AW & 6PR Bulls N' Bears Report
Listen to ASX-listed Westgold Resources Managing Director Wayne Bramwell talk to Matt Birney on the Bulls N’ Bears Report about Westgold’s stellar drill hits hundreds of meters below its proposed gold mine expansion.
TO LISTEN TO THE WESTGOLD RESOURCES AUDIO INTERVIEW - CLICK BELOW
Westgold operates gold mines across three key areas in and around the Meekathara-Cue region of WA. Amongst a sea of potential expansion opportunities the company is already working on a PFS to go deeper at its Big Bell mine and management already has a mine plan in place to mine its Great Fingall deposit. Notably, both operations got a shot in the arm recently when Westgold tabled some stellar drill numbers below the existing mine plans and PFS boundary.
RADIO INTERVIEW - TRANSCRIPT
Matt Birney - Welcome to Bulls N' Bears brought to you today by WA gold producer Westgold Resources.
Matt Birney - ASX code: WGX. I'm Matt Birney and I'm joined now by the Managing Director of Westgold Resources, Wayne Bramwell. Hi Wayne.
Wayne Bramwell - G'day Matt.
Matt Birney - Okay so Westgold operates gold mines across three key areas in and around the Meekathara-Cue region in WA. Amongst a sea of potential expansion opportunities the company is already working on a PFS to go deeper at its Big Bell mine and management already has a mine plan in place to mine its Great Fingall deposit. Notably, both operations got a shot in the arm recently when Westgold tabled some stellar drill numbers below the existing mine plan and PFS boundary.
Matt Birney - Okay Wayne firstly tell me how many operational gold mines do you have in WA and how much gold do you expect to churn out from them this financial year?
Wayne Bramwell - Matt, Westgold has four large underground mines operating in WA and this year we are guiding to 240 to 260 ounces of production for the full year.
Matt Birney - What's it costing you to produce an ounce of gold up there?
To the half Matt, we're tracking just over $2,000 an ounce ore and sustaining.
Matt Birney - Okay let's talk about your Big Bell mine. You've got some stellar drill results back recently from below the area where you're sort of modeling an existing expansion. Which I guess means that the expansion might expand again.
Matt Birney - What were the best numbers and how far below the existing PFS plan were they?
Wayne Bramwell - Absolutely cracker of a number today Matt. 50 meters at 5 grams per tonne, 200 meters below our current plans for extension so there's a lot of real estate between what our current plan is and where this drill hit is.
Matt Birney - And no doubt you'll try and fill that real estate in with some more holes will you?
Wayne Bramwell - Our geologists are pretty keen to keep drilling it, I'm more than keen for them to pursue that target as aggressively as they can.
Matt Birney - Alright now at your Great Fingall deposit, also centered on Cue, you also returned some pretty spectacular drill hits there recently and again they were below the current modeled mine plan. Give me the best numbers there.
Wayne Bramwell - Another cracker of a hit this week, 3 meters at 45 grams per tonne. Granted it's deep, three meters is the minimum mining width for underground mining and historically this ore body was mined at close to 20 grams per tonne.
Matt Birney - And so how far below the existing mine plan was that drill hit?
Wayne Bramwell - About 1300 meters vertical below surface there Matt.
Matt Birney - Right and how far does the existing mine plan go down at the moment?
Wayne Bramwell - The old timers mined down to 700. We've got a plan goes down to about 1300 so again this is on the edge of where our current plans are.
Matt Birney - Big Bell was also a historical gold mine going back many decades and also produces some pretty crazy grades, is that right?
Wayne Bramwell - Correct Matt, I mean, three million ounces have come out of Big Bell to date, I mean we can see a much longer life there and when we're drilling 50 meters at 5, you know 200 meters below our nearest development and we're getting pretty excited about the longevity of this asset.
Matt Birney - Wayne Bramwell from Westgold Resources
Matt Birney - Thanks for joining me on Bulls N' Bears and remember we're only here to give you information not advice which you should of course seek independently.
Matt Birney - I'm Matt Birney and this Bulls N' Bears.
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