The Western Gold Resources (WGR) Board has approved a formal decision to mine for the 100%-owned Gold Duke Project, representing a major corporate milestone and transitioning WGR from an exploration-focused company to a near-term Western Australian gold producer. The Gold Duke Project has existing mining approvals at the Eagle, Emu, Golden Monarch, and Gold King deposits. All four proposed mining pits within the Gold Duke Project are fully approved for mining.
A 35,000 m of close-Spaced (5 m x 10 m) – Stage 1 grade control drilling program and associated results to date confirm excellent continuity of the mineralised structures and supports highly accurate ore boundary definition, reducing dilution and ore loss and improving overall mining selectivity and operating margin.
Strong consistency demonstrated between new grade control drilling results to date, historical drilling and existing geological models, provides increased confidence in pit optimisation, mine scheduling and expected likelihood of upgrade to the resources as an integral part of the decision to mine process.
Pre-mobilisation and operational readiness activities are well advanced and are expected to continue in parallel with mobilisation and site establishment planned for Q1 2026. Updated Mineral Resource models are expected to be finalised and released prior to the end of 2025. The current figure is 3.25 Mt at 2.1 g/t Au for 214,000 ounces of gold and has been reported in the Measured, Indicated, and Inferred categories.
WGR is fully funded through to production, following completion of the A$6.75 million placement and a complementary non-dilutive deferred payment facility expected to be provided by SSH Group Ltd. The existing binding toll milling agreement with Wiluna Mining Corporation allows access to its plant located ~46 km from site.
Managing Director Cullum Winn commented: “The Board’s decision to mine at the Gold Duke Project is the culmination of intense and disciplined technical work undertaken over the past 12 months. This work has progressed the project to a point where the Board considers there is sufficient technical and operational confidence to approve a decision to mine, based on the information currently available.”
He added: “Our grade control drilling to date and associated results have confirmed that the mineralisation behaves exactly as predicted at mining scale for all the pits within the Stage 1 of the Gold Duke Project, which is a cornerstone of our early production profile. With a low-capital start-up, extremely strong margins at current Australian gold prices, and a fully funded pre-production program, Gold Duke is exceptionally well positioned to transition into production. This is a pivotal milestone for WGR and its shareholders.”
The Board’s decision to mine follows the successful work on every major project-enabling milestone identified within the company’s development strategy. Over the past 12 months, WGR has advanced the Golden Duke Project from a well-defined development opportunity to a fully permitted, contractually supported, operationally secure and financially backed near-term gold operation.
The company has now achieved all regulatory approvals for mining and closure planning and secured a processing solution via a binding toll-milling agreement. It has also completed detailed grade control drilling across all Stage 1 pits, with results expected to be released prior to the end of 2025; and identified and confirmed a preferred mining contractor with a cost-supportive deferred facility. It has also strengthened and updated the project’s Scoping Study economics and continued to engage with the traditional owners in accordance with and in addition to the existing native title and heritage agreement for the project tenements. It has also built a fully funded pathway to production.
The development focus now shifts toward mobilisation, operational readiness, ongoing traditional owner consultation and the execution of mining activities.
The toll milling agreement executed with Wiluna Mining it says represents a cornerstone achievement for Gold Duke. The Wiluna processing plant is a modern, operational CIL facility with a proven gold-recovery track record and excellent metallurgy compatibility with Gold Duke ore. The short 46 km haul distance minimises logistical costs, reduces fleet requirements, and accelerates turnaround between mining and processing campaigns.
Under the agreement ore will be crushed, processed, and refined under WGR title. WMC will operate under defined throughput terms and campaign windows. Processing fees are linked to a fixed base rate with industry-standard adjustments. This processing arrangement materially shortens the timeline to first gold and significantly enhances project economics relative to stand-alone processing alternatives.
Following a competitive tendering process, SSH Group was selected as preferred mining contractor due to its operational capability, strategic contracting alliances, and unique deferred payment structure. SSH will provide full site establishment (haul roads, ROM pad shaping, workshop and laydown setup), open-pit mining (load & haul, drill & blast management), ore haulage to the Wiluna processing plant; and technical services covering mine scheduling, grade control supervision, and
reporting.
The deferred payment facility embedded within SSH’s proposal reduces early capital pressure and aligns contractor incentives with strong operational performance. The final Master Services Agreement is being negotiated and will be executed subject to internal corporate procedures and approval by both parties.
The completed 35,000-metre grade control drilling campaign represents one of the largest pre-production GC programs completed by a junior WA gold company in recent years. The program, which targeted the full Stage 1 production footprint, has delivered high-drill density confirmation of mineralised structures; plus reduced geological uncertainty and improved grade confidence. It will allow for enhanced early mine scheduling precision and alignment with Scoping Study assumptions used for pit optimisation. All samples are now completed and are being utilised in the upcoming updated resource models, expected prior to the end of 2025.
The post Western Gold Resources makes decision to mine at Gold Duke Project appeared first on International Mining.