The mineral resource at Westgold’s Bluebird South junction in Western Australia has grown to 1.4 million ounces.
This 68 per cent increase will see Westgold up its drilling at the site, with two surface rigs and two underground drill rigs committed into 2025.
Westgold’s drilling objectives are to expand and infill the system, providing data for the optimisation of mine infrastructure positioning.
Westgold managing director and chief executive officer Wayne Bramwell said the updated mineral resource has confirmed Bluebird’s status as a key growth driver for the company.
“In under 18 months, the team has moved a simple uphole bench mine producing at 40,000 tonnes a month, towards a 110,000 tonnes a month mine with a highly efficient transverse primary/secondary mining sequence,” Bramwell said.
“This transition is built upon continued investment in drilling delivering a 240 per cent increase in the mineral resource base.”
Bramwell said the company is anticipating an increase in the associated ore reserves during the second half of the 2024–25 financial year (FY25).
“In FY25, Westgold has unleashed the drills,” he said.
“In the Southern Goldfields preliminary works to support a seventh underground drill rig at Beta Hunt are underway, and the first resource development drilling program under Westgold ownership has commenced at the Lake Cowan project at Higginsville, with a view to providing a new source of feed to the Higginsville mill.
“We look forward to providing ongoing updates on the outcomes of this investment throughout this year.”
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