The preliminary numbers are in, and Westgold Resources has announced a bumper year for gold.
For the fourth quarter of the 2023–24 financial year (Q4 FY24), Westgold produced 52,795 ounces (oz) of gold from its operations with an average gold sale price of $3493/oz.
That brings the company’s total goal produced for FY24 to 227,237oz, the top end of Westgold’s production guidance of 220,000–230,000oz.
Westgold managing director and chief executive officer Wayne Bramwell celebrated the company’s success.
“Even with substantial investments into our high value growth projects, the company increased its cash and bullion position by $16 million in Q4 FY24, bringing our group total to $263 million,” Bramwell said.
This represents six consecutive quarters of growth in cash, bullion and liquid investments, amounting to a total of $104 million, with $71 million built over FY24.
“Looking ahead, the growth capital invested across our assets in the past year is expected to commence delivering increased production and margin improvement in the second half of FY25 and beyond,” Bramwell said.
“Our wholly Western Australian gold business will be enhanced when the merger with Karora completes, subject to conditions precedent, at the end of July.”
If the merger is implemented, Westgold will take ownership over Karora’s Beta Hunt and Higginsville gold mines, both high-performing assets nestled in the same region as Westgold’s iconic Bluebird and Great Fingall mines. Westgold will also own the Lakewood gold mill near Kalgoorlie.
The merger is set to create “a globally investable, mid-tier unhedged gold producer operating exclusively in Western Australia”, what Bramwell describes as ‘Westgold 3.0’.
“The expanded Westgold 3.0 will be a unique prospect in the Australian gold space – an unhedged, well-funded owner operator that is fully leveraged to the gold price,” Bramwell said.
“With an extensive pipeline of organic expansion, development and exploration opportunities, Westgold 3.0 will have unparalleled growth potential and offer an unrivalled value proposition to a much wider investment market.”
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