Wedoany.com Report-Dec.12, Westgold Resources has resumed high-grade gold mining at the historic Great Fingall mine near Cue in Western Australia, marking the first production from the main reef in over a century.

The average initial gold grades from the first stopes are above 3g/t.

The company announced Thursday that the first production stope has been fired, extracting ore from zones originally mined between 1891 and 1918 that historically produced 1.2 million ounces of gold at exceptional grades. Initial stopes are delivering ore grades above 3 grams per tonne.

Great Fingall forms a key component of Westgold's Murchison operations and is on track to reach full production by 2027, contributing approximately 500,000 tonnes per annum of high-grade material to the company's nearby Cue processing hub. This will complement the more than one million tonnes per annum supplied from the adjacent Big Bell mine.

The restart aligns with Westgold's FY26 guidance, which anticipated first high-grade stope production in the current quarter. The mine is expected to steadily increase output through FY26 and achieve a combined steady-state rate of around 40,000 tonnes per month across the Murchison hub by late FY27.

Ore from Great Fingall will enhance overall feed grade at the Cue processing facility, supporting improved operating margins. Underground drilling continues into the deeper, open extensions of multiple lodes, with the objective of extending the current reserves beyond the planned six-year mine life.

The project benefits from established infrastructure and is being developed under a three-year underground mining contract with Barminco.

Westgold managing director and CEO Wayne Bramwell said: "The recommencement of stoping at Great Fingall is a proud achievement for all at Westgold and the WA underground mining community. This historic mine, which produced over 1.2moz of gold at outstanding grades in the early 1900s, has now been revitalised as a modern, high-grade operation through our strategic investment in the Murchison portfolio. The high-grade output from Great Fingall will complement the volume from Big Bell, strengthening our operations and creating lasting value for our shareholders."

The successful restart reinforces Westgold's position as a significant Western Australian gold producer and follows the company’s recent divestment of its Lakewood Mill near Kalgoorlie to Black Cat Syndicate in April 2025.