WGX x 4, WRLG x 2, IAU
West Australian gold miner Westgold Resources aka WGX released a brief PR they called their Half-Year Financial Results Summary. (Keep in mind that their H1 covers the months July to December 2024.)
We already knew the numbers for each of the first two quarters, so to get the numbers in this PR you would merely have to add those numbers together. The six months were dominated by integrated the assets they acquired when they bought Karora Resources, so although they they managed to increase production significantly as well as cashflow from operations, the costs of integration meant they lost money over H1. They expect H2 to give us much better numbers. Hope so!
Message 35031947
Probably the key asset Westgold Resources aka WGX picked up in the merger with KRR is the Beta Hunt mine, where there are currently two gold deposits being mined plus additional nickel upside. The next zone that will be mined is the Fletcher Zone, discovered by KRR a few year ago and since greatly expanded by drilling. WGX is continuing and expanding these efforts, with five drill rigs now operating
A Resource Estimate for the already drilled portion of Fletcher is underway and scheduled to be released by mid-2025. Meanwhile they are drilling up the northern portion of Fletcher and now believe the Mason Zone to be an offset of Fletcher to the south. Drilling will commence at Mason next quarter. The combined strike length of Fletcher and Mason combined is now over 4 km.
The drilling has been going well, e.g. assays like 41.00m at 7.99 g/t Au and 19.00m at 5.95 g/t Au from one hole and 38.00m at 6.80 g/t Au in another. WGX has also managed to get their hands on a number of historical drill holes into Mason which will be re-assayed and eventually included in a Resource Report along with the new holes being drilled.
If Fletcher and Mason come through as expected, this opens up opportunities for increasing production at Beta Hunt.
Message 35031977
As well, WGX has produced a new presentation detailing their project pipeline and in particular their overall exploration campaign.
westgold.com.au
I do find it remarkable how many news items WGX manages to generate. Part of it is that they have to meet two sets of regulatory requirements, but it is also that they seem be under such intense scrutiny in Australia from the press and investors that it rivals the British press focus on the Royal Family. Today, WGX put out a PR regarding press speculation regarding 'possible divestment of non-core assets', Their response was what you would expect: they are always looking at all their assets, especially the non-core ones, and will make an announcement if 'definitive and legally binding agreements are entered into in respect of any such divestment in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations'.
Sounds good to me...
Message 35033599
If you want some reading material, West Red Lake Gold aka WRLG has posted the 43-101 Technical Report supporting the PFBS they recently released for the Madsen, which they will be restarting this year.
ca.finance.yahoo.com
Today WRLG also announced a Charity Flow-Through PP, which was immediately upsized to $20M. This is not good news, as this management crew has a reputation for too much dilution, and they really don't need the money at this point as they are all cashed up and about to start generating income.
ca.finance.yahoo.com
The rejig at Nevada gold miner i-80 Gold aka IAU continues apace under its new management.
Last week we got a revised PEA for the Cove deposit on its McCoy-Cove property. Now we get a revised PEA for the Archimedes Underground deposit on its Ruby Hill property, under a large existing open pit. The PEA foresees a 10-year mine like producing ~100k oz Au per year at a cash cost of $1769/oz. At their base case of the PoG at $2150/oz, this results in an acceptable IRR of 23%, which increases to 75% at current spot gold prices. Initial capex is estimated to be $49M.
Expect all these numbers to markedly improve as optimization and exploration results bear fruit. Additional drilling will be carried out on the 426 and Ruby Deeps zones and will be included in a feasibility study expected to be released in 2028. Permitting and metallurgical testing are also underway.
Message 35032033
In response, Scotia issued a new analyst report on IAU. They characterized the Archimedes PEA as positive, another step toward demonstrating the value of IAU's portfolio of assets. While pointing out that IAU trades at less than half the price/NAV ratio of its peers, Scotia maintained IAU at Sector Outperform with a target of $1.50. |
