Western Australia-based gold producer Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) reports it has set a new record for gold production in Q2 for FY2023 at its Meekatharra gold operation in Western Australia.
The company says the Bluebird underground mine produced 110,606 tonnes @ 3.47g/t Au, which builds on the previous record of 90,588 tonnes @ 3.2g/t Au in Q1 FY2023.
In late 2019, Westgold started exploratory underground operations at Bluebird, which established a decline in the South Junction open pit. In February 2021, the company took the opportunity to ‘comprehensively’ drill out both the existing mine plan, and adjacent to the orebody.
According to the company, the subsequent restart of operations capitalised on the drill bit investment, delivering project to date production of 597,000 @ 2.9g/t Au versus an initial reserve over the same mining footprint of 149,756 tonnes @ 2.6g/t Au.
The initial mine design of Bluebird underground was a production scale of about 25,000 tonnes per month (tpm) @ more than 3g/t Au, which was met in 2021 with Bluebird’s operating team setting the aforementioned production record of 90,588 tonnes.
Commenting on the record production, Westgold Resources Managing Director Wayne Bramwell says: “Westgold’s strategy to make our key mines bigger and more profitable continues, with the expansion of the Bluebird underground mine advancing rapidly.
Our drilling program is paying dividends with extensions to the north of the current mine plan set to immediately lift production. Enticingly, the early results from the interpreted confluence of Bluebird Deeps and South Junction gives us a glimpse of the potential scale of the greater Bluebird and South Junction Complex.
Bluebird continues to grow in output and is now set to supersede Paddy’s Flat as our largest producer in this part of the Murchison.”
“Bluebird continues to grow in output and is now set to supersede Paddy’s Flat as our largest producer in this part of the Murchison”
Westgold reports the material and ‘consistent outperformance’ of the Bluebird mine versus the ore reserve has led the site team to pursue options to expand the mine, leveraging existing infrastructure to achieve increased production rates.
The company states the next phase of expansion at Bluebird is predicated upon moving from a single decline to 2 dedicated declines which will further expand the mine’s footprint, and provide simultaneous access to multiple stoping fronts on any given level.
Access is also being established to the Bluebird North lodes, which the company says will allow subsequent production from the Bluebird North area to be decoupled from Bluebird main, effectively resulting in a second mine sharing the current mine’s infrastructure which will lower overall unit costs.
In addition, Westgold also reports drill platforms are being designed for drillhole 22BLDD253 following early ‘success’ in this hole. This reportedly will enable quantification and subsequent evaluation of the South Junction orebody and the nearby Great Northern Highway deposit.
The company states the Bluebird Trend from the southern end of the South Junction to the northern end of Bluebird North is about 1,950m in extent, with the Great Northern Highway deposit about 870m to the east of this trend.
Furthermore, Westgold reports a surface rig is mobilising to site this month to expedite follow-up work on 22BLDD253. Surface holes will also be drilled into Bluebird Deeps to allow for longer-term mine planning to occur.
The Bluebird Project is located 15km southwest of Meekatharra at the northern end of Westgold’s Murchison Operations, which stretches from Cue in the South to Meekatharra in the north.
The Bluebird underground mine and the Paddy’s Flat underground mine are the primary ore sources feeding the 1.4-1.8 million tonnes per annum Bluebird processing plant.
Westgold Resources holds the Cue and Meekatharra Gold operations, which combined comprise the Murchison Operations. Both operations feature a processing hub which includes Tuckabianna at Cue, and Bluebird at Meekatharra.
Images: Westgold Resources Ltd
