Wedoany.com Report-Sept. 24, Brightstar Resources has received approval from the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE) for its Lord Byron project, located 85km southeast of Laverton, Western Australia. This follows the granting of a Native Vegetation Clearing Permit in July 2025, completing the environmental approval process.

The company’s portfolio includes 3moz of mineral resources across the Goldfields and Murchison regions.

With approvals secured, Brightstar plans to commence development of the Lord Byron open-pit mine in the second half of 2026, aligning with the construction of a proposed 1 million tonnes per annum carbon-in-leach processing plant in Laverton, set to begin in the first quarter of 2026. This timeline enables mining operations to start, stockpiling mill feed before the plant’s commissioning.

Alex Rovira, Managing Director of Brightstar, stated: “It is great to see full mining approvals received for the open-pit development of the Lord Byron mine, which is pivotal to accelerating gold production growth in our Laverton Hub. Importantly, the Lord Byron open pit is located less than 10km from our operational Fish underground mine, with surface infrastructure items already in place as a result of the construction of Fish resulting in streamlined, low capex development. This allows Brightstar to rapidly commence development of the Lord Byron open pit to coincide with our proposed mill construction, due to commence in H1 CY26. Recent exploration efforts at Lord Byron point to material upside to the current mineral resource and potential for additions to the current mine plan. Drill hole LBRC25001 returned a spectacular result of 32m @ 7.16g/t Au, which was directly below the bottom of the proposed Lord Byron south open pit.”

The Lord Byron project, previously mined by Crescent Gold in 2011–12 and later owned by Focus Minerals in 2012, was acquired by Lord Byron Mining in 2019, with mining resuming in 2020. In 2023, Linden Gold Alliance purchased the Jasper Hills Gold Project, including Lord Byron and Fish open-pit mines. Brightstar’s acquisition of Linden Gold in June 2024 expedited approvals, leading to the Fish underground mine starting operations in January 2025.

Brightstar continues exploration, with ongoing reverse circulation and diamond drilling at Sandstone supporting a pre-feasibility study within its 100,000m exploration program. Underground drilling at Fish targets deeper resource extensions, while surface exploration progresses at the Second Fortune and Fish mines. Headquartered in Perth and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, Brightstar manages a portfolio with 3 million ounces of mineral resources across the Goldfields and Murchison regions, processing ores at Genesis Minerals’ Laverton Mill under an ore purchase agreement.

This development strengthens Brightstar’s position in Western Australia’s gold mining sector, supporting economic growth and sustainable resource development.