Westgold strengthens leadership team with key appointments

Westgold Resources has announced two significant leadership appointments to support the company’s growth and optimisation strategy.

Aaron Rankine will take on the role of chief operating officer (COO) and will begin in the new year.

A mining engineer with over two decades of experience in Australia and overseas, Rankine has held various senior roles, most recently as general manager operational performance at Perenti.

Rankine also held general manager and operations manager positions at Barminco, which have equipped him with extensive expertise in underground operations across gold, copper, and nickel assets.

“I chose to join Westgold because of the amazing platform that has been built over many years by the dedicated people in the business, culminating in the recent acquisition of the Southern Goldfields assets,” Rankine said.

“This platform, and the team behind it, has created an opportunity to generate significant value,” he said.

To further enhance project delivery, acting COO Jacob Mesiha will assume the newly created role of general manager projects and operational readiness.

Mesiha has spent 13 years with Westgold and brings a wealth of operational experience gained from his work across the Murchison and southern Goldfields regions.

Westgold managing director and chief executive officer Wayne Bramwell welcomed Rankine and Mesiha to the team.

“We’re delighted that Westgold has attracted a candidate of Aaron Rankine’s calibre,” Bramwell said.

“Aaron brings a track record in safety and operational performance leadership that will be essential as Westgold targets higher productivity and lower costs from our expanded portfolio of assets.

“We are equally delighted with Jacob Mesiha’s development and promotion to the next stage of his career, in the newly created role of general manager projects and operational readiness.

“We thank Jacob for stepping up and capably acting as our interim COO, his extensive project knowledge garnered over 13 years’ experience in our operations will be instrumental in the successful delivery of our pipeline of growth and capital projects.”

These appointments come as Westgold aims to be producing at rates equivalent to 500,000 to 600,000 ounces (oz) of gold per annum from the 2026–27 financial year.