10 Westgold Resources Limited Annual Report 2024 REVIEW OF OPERATIONS (CONTINUED) OUR OPERATIONS MURCHISON OPERATIONS Westgold’s Murchison operations are located around the towns of Meekatharra and Cue in the mid-west region of Western Australia and in FY24 encompassed three operating underground mines (Big Bell, Bluebird South Junction and Paddy’s Flat ), two mines in development (Fender and Great Fingall) and two processing hubs (the 1.6-1.8Mtpa Bluebird plant at Meekatharra and the 1.4Mtpa Tuckabianna plant near Cue). Subsequent to the period under review, Paddy’s Flat was paused, and Fender has since achieved commercial production. Figure. Westgold’s Murchison operations Great Northern Highway MEEKATHARRA CUE D Bluebird Mill 1.8Mtpa Tuckabianna Mill 1.4Mtpa South Emu Bluebird Paddy’s Flat Big Bell Fender Triton Comet Great Fingall /Golden Crown D BIG BELL MINING AREA CUDDINGWARRA MINING AREA DAY DAWN MINING AREA TUCKABIANNA MINING AREA REEDY’S MINING AREA NANINE MINING AREA YALOGINDA MINING AREA MEEKATHARRA NORTH MINING AREA PADDY’S FLAT MINING AREA 600000E 600000E 650000E 650000E 550000E 7000000N 7000000N 7050000N 7050000N 6950000N 6950000N GDA94 MGA Zone 50 25 Kilometres Westgold Tenements Mine Development Project Processing Plant Greenstones Granite LEGEND D In FY24, gold output from Westgold’s Murchison operations was 168,485oz, representing 74% of the Group’s production at a C1 Cash Cost of $1,790/oz and an AISC of $2,281oz. MEEKATHARRA The Meekatharra operations are located around the regional town of Meekatharra, and include the historic gold mining centres of Meekatharra North, Paddy’s Flat, Yaloginda, Nannine and Reedy’s. The Meekatharra processing hub incorporates the 1.6-1.8 Mtpa Bluebird processing plant, a 420-person village, and associated mining infrastructure required to support mining operations. In FY24, the Bluebird plant received ore from the Paddy’s Flat (since paused) and Bluebird – South Junction underground mines, and surplus ore from the Group’s Cue operations, supplemented by lower grade, stockpiled surface ore. Meekatharra has a number of advanced growth projects and exploration targets which sustain and extend gold production beyond existing operations, including: – Extensions to the Bluebird underground mine, including the incorporation of the South Junction orebody and potential inclusion of the Polar Star extension; – Triton Deeps and Boomerang in the Reedy Mining Area; and – New targets across the central package where drilling below 100m in depth is sparse, with advanced targets including the GNH and Paddy’s North deposits. BLUEBIRD UNDERGROUND MINE Ongoing drilling during the reporting period assisted this emerging flagship operation to mine higher grades for fewer tonnes, resulting in improved profitability and cash flow, delivering 452,000t at 3.7 g/t for FY24. During the year under review, a second decline was established at Bluebird, to open more production fronts to maintain output. Pleasingly, the boundaries of the Bluebird and South Junction system continue to expand, and Westgold continues to prioritise an extensive resource drilling programme to grow the mine’s footprint.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjE2NDg3