en.Wedoany.com Reported - WA Gold Limited is advancing its wholly owned Abercromby Gold Project, located in the northern Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia along the renowned Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt. This structural belt hosts South African gold giant Gold Fields' 6.5-million-ounce Agnew gold mine, as well as the historic Wiluna mine with 12 million ounces of proven gold. More broadly, Abercromby is situated in a region that has produced over 40 million ounces of gold, including Northern Star Resources' Jundee and Bronzewing mines.
The project contains two approved mining leases and boasts a resource of 518,000 ounces at the Capital prospect. A recent scoping study outlined a low-cost development opportunity for the project, reinforcing its near-term production potential. WA Gold is currently focused on advancing Abercromby towards the development phase, while simultaneously launching a 10,000-metre drilling blitz to expand the resource base and unlock the project's exploration upside.
WA Gold's scoping study revealed a robust economic profile, developing Abercromby via a staged and capital-efficient pathway designed to prioritise early cash flow. The study focused on commencing mining through a small open pit first, then transitioning to underground operations. Central to this approach is minimising upfront capital, reducing technical complexity, and accelerating first production. The first-phase development scenario evaluated in the study contemplates production of approximately 114,000 ounces of gold, with around 90% classified as higher-confidence Indicated category. The initial mining plan only utilises about 20% of the Capital deposit's current resource base, leaving substantial potential for future expansion.
WA Gold CEO Ben Pollard stated that the focus is on quality and financial prudence, favouring projects that can deliver cash flow sooner. The scoping study outlined two years of open-pit mining, producing over 24,000 ounces of gold, followed by 2.5 years of underground operations yielding a further 90,000 ounces. The study adopted a gold price of A$6,000 per ounce and assumed toll treatment through an existing CIL processing facility within 70 kilometres of Abercromby. WA Gold has entered into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Wiluna Mining regarding potential toll treatment at the Matilda CIL plant, located 20 kilometres from Abercromby, with discussions ongoing. Under these conditions, the scoping study outlined a modest upfront capital cost of A$8 million, generating approximately A$270 million in pre-tax free cash flow with a payback period of 1.5 years. The pre-tax internal rate of return reached 70% for the open-pit component and 526% for the underground component, with a net present value estimated at A$229 million.
WA Gold is also targeting further upside through resource growth. In March, it launched a 10,000-metre drilling blitz aimed at expanding and upgrading the existing Mineral Resource Estimate. Drilling is focused on extending high-grade lodes along strike and down dip at Capital, enhancing resource geological confidence, with hole depths ranging between 275 metres and 500 metres. Currently, only a 1.2-kilometre segment of Abercromby's 6-kilometre prospective corridor has been systematically drill-tested. The campaign is being conducted in stages, with WA Gold planning to assess results after completing the initial 3,000 metres of drilling. As of the end of April, approximately 2,200 metres of the planned program had been completed. Previous drilling at Capital has yielded high-grade intercepts including 57.5 metres grading 5.73 g/t gold from 80 metres and 30 metres grading 10.01 g/t gold from 164 metres. First-pass AC drilling at the Capital South target also returned promising results, including 4 metres grading 1.19 g/t gold from 16 metres and 4 metres grading 3.58 g/t gold from 52 metres. Historical drilling in the Capital North area returned intercepts including 58 metres grading 1.71 g/t gold from 77 metres and 8 metres grading 14.47 g/t gold from 114 metres.
WA Gold is currently focused on advancing Abercromby towards development and a Final Investment Decision. Multiple workstreams supporting the transition to production are already underway, including finalising commercial agreements critical to delivering ounces. Upcoming pre-feasibility study activities will include refining capital cost estimates, geotechnical drilling, engineering studies, and groundwater assessments. The company plans to advance environmental, heritage, and Native Title approvals, while concurrently conducting negotiations related to toll treatment, mining, and transport agreements. WA Gold also aims to finalise relevant mining approvals, targeting first production at Abercromby as early as the second half of next year. In February, the company completed a strategic A$2.5 million placement, with investment firm Tribeca becoming a cornerstone investor, with proceeds directed towards advancing exploration at both Abercromby and the Bullabulling project. The Bullabulling project is adjacent to ground held by Minerals 260, which hosts a 4.5-million-ounce resource. WA Gold believes this mineralisation may extend onto its tenements and plans to conduct geophysical surveys this quarter to finalise drill targets.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
