Commodities, Exploration/Development, Gold, News

Major resource boost at flagship Wiluna gold mine

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Wiluna Mining Corporation has bolstered the prospects of its Wiluna Mining Centre in Western Australia after reporting a significant increase in the resource portfolio of the operation.

In a mineral resource update released this week, Wiluna reported its measured and indicated resource had jumped 28 per cent to 2.73 million ounces (Moz) at 4.46 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold at the complex.

The Wiluna Mining Centre makes up the flagship Wiluna gold mine as well as other deposits such as Regent, Matilda and Lake Way, comprising a total of 20 open pit and three underground mines.

The resource boost comes after Wiluna had completed more than 175,000 metres (m) of drilling at the Wiluna gold mine, de-risking and advancing the project before it commences production in December 2021.

Wiluna’s goal was to realise at least a 2.5Moz measured and indicated resource by the end of the 2022 financial year.

“Stockpiles of approximately 100,000 tonnes of development ore are already on surface ready for processing through the new concentrator in December 2021, with gold concentrate expected from January 2022 ramping to commercial production of 120,000 ounces per year by June 2022,” Wiluna stated in the announcement.

Wiluna hopes to expand production at the Wiluna Mining Centre to 250,000 ounces in the 2024 financial year.

The company said continued drilling has the potential to further improve Wiluna’s resource, backed up by historical mining practices.

“Wiluna has a growing high-grade gold endowment of 15,000 ounces per vertical metre over three main gold structures with a combined strike length of approximately 10 kilometres, and further drilling is expected to increase this in the top 600 metres of the Wiluna Mining Centre,” the company stated.

“Historical mining extended to 1000m and drilling to 1200m below surface, indicating that the highly continuous gold structures remain open and provide considerable opportunities for growth.”

The total open pit and underground mineral resource of the Wiluna Mining Centre is 36 million tonnes at 3.9g/t for 4.51Moz, comprising 60 per cent measured and indicated resource.

The resource findings will underpin an ore reserve update currently underway as part of the stage two feasibility study. This is due for completion in the March quarter of 2022.

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