11 Westgold Resources Limited Annual Report 2024 Westgold spent $25M on drilling across its key Murchison and Bryah assets during the year. This investment unlocked significant value, and in particular saw the Bluebird-South Junction mine grow in stature, with the announcement in April 2024 of an interim Mineral Resource Estimate for the combined system of 6.4Mt at 3.1g/t for 827koz (refer ASX - Bluebird-South Junction Increases to 6.4Mt at 3.1 g/t Au 16 April 2024). This represented a half a millionounce increase in the Mineral Resource of Bluebird – South Junction, post nine months of mining depletion at that time. In conjunction with the programme to better define the South Junction opportunities, works to define the parallel Polar Star lode, continue into FY25. At the close of the period, the Bluebird mine plan was transitioning to South-Junction’s large, bulk mining areas, which will be the operational focus over the coming half (H1 FY25). This strategy is expected to re-optimise the Bluebird mining areas and materially increase outputs, to a rate of 1.2Mtpa from Bluebird-South Junction by Q4 FY25. PADDY’S FLAT Westgold’s Paddy’s Flat underground mine at Meekatharra has been a significant contributor to the business for many years, and in FY24 delivered 189,000t of ore at 2.9g/t. Following completion of mining of the large Prohibition lode however, the mine was failing to meet profitability metrics, with underperformance driven both by a lack of drill data across the Paddy’s Flat operation, and the inherent complexity of this large, yet under-drilled system. In January 2024, an operational pause was implemented, which saw Paddy’s Flat personnel and equipment redeployed to bolster resources within the Company’s larger operations, with mine production from Fender supplementing, then replacing, Paddy’s Flat during the latter half of the year. Paddy’s Flat has transitioned into an exploration phase, targeting definition of a 3-4 year optimised mine plan prior to a restart decision. Figure 3. South Junction Maiden Ore Reserve Open Open Open Open Exploration Target Exploration Target Bluebird Expansion (Planned) Bluebird North Expansion (Planned) Bluebird North Lodes Iron Bar Lodes Polar Star Lodes South Junction Lodes South Junction Open Pit Historical Production +400Koz Au Bluebird Open Pit Historical Production +600Koz Au Existing Bluebird Workings SOUTH JUNCTION Maiden Ore Reserve 17500E 18000E 18500E 19000E 17500E 18000E 18500E 19000E 500mRL -500mRL -500mRL 0mRL 500mRL 0mRL North South 500 Metres Depleted by UG Mining Measured & Indicated Resources Inferred Resources LEGEND 24BLDD095 9.25m @ 3.79g/t Au from 122m 24BLDD066 18.9m @ 3.65g/t Au from 293m 24BLDD064 31.37m @ 5.55g/t Au from 122m & 15.5m @ 4.62g/t from 158m 24SJDD021_W2 5.79m @ 2.39g/t Au, 4.70m @ 4.58g/t & 20.94m @ 6.74g/t Bluebird Mine South Junction Mine showing initial ore reserve
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