Western Gold expands Gold Duke plan to 59.7koz with stronger resource backing

Gold Duke mine plan expands to 1.11 million tonnes

Western Gold Resources Limited (ASX:WGR) has added scale to its Gold Duke development case, increasing the proposed Production Target by approximately 62% to 1.11 million tonnes at 1.7 g/t gold for 59.7 koz of contained gold. At the study’s assumed 93% metallurgical recovery, about 55.5 koz is forecast to be recovered and payable, up from 42.8 koz in the September 2025 study.

The revised plan spans 18 shallow open pits across Eagle, Emu, Golden Monarch, Gold King, Joyners Find and Comedy King, with a scheduled mining period of about 21 months and processing over 23 months. Gold King is the largest contributor at 341.7kt for 19.8koz of contained gold, followed by Eagle North at 203.6kt for 11.8koz and Golden Monarch Pit E at 141.7kt for 7.1koz.

Higher-confidence drilling supports the expanded inventory

WGR says the larger target is not simply the result of using a higher gold price. The study incorporates a December 2025 Mineral Resource Estimate of 4.84Mt at 1.8 g/t Au for 277koz, alongside 33,980 metres of close-spaced RC grade control and infill drilling completed across the principal mining areas.

That work has increased the proportion of the mine plan supported by higher-confidence material: 82% of the Production Target comes from Measured and Indicated Resources, while 18% is Inferred. The distinction matters. The study remains preliminary, contains no Ore Reserves, and the company cautions that the Inferred component may not ultimately be upgraded or realised.

Study economics rely on A$6,100 gold

At a gold price assumption of A$6,100 an ounce, WGR forecasts recovered-gold revenue of about A$338.6 million and total operating costs, including royalties, of approximately A$265.6 million. That produces an estimated A$72.9 million operating surplus before project-level capital, financing and tax, with a pre-tax NPV of A$66.2 million using an 8% discount rate. The post-tax NPV is estimated at A$46.1 million.

The development model remains capital-light by mining conventionally and trucking ore roughly 46 kilometres to the Wiluna Processing Plant rather than building a standalone facility. Pre-mining and start-up capital is estimated at A$5.35 million, while WGR says total funding required is likely to be about A$8 million to A$10 million once working capital and related requirements are included. The study’s cost estimates carry an accuracy range of approximately plus or minus 35%.

Wiluna processing deferral remains the critical dependency

The most immediate practical constraint sits outside Gold Duke. Wiluna Operations experienced a treatment-plant breakdown in July, and toll-milling arrangements, including WGR’s, were deferred in August. WGR’s binding Toll Milling Agreement remains in place, but the study assumes processing can begin only after the plant returns to operational availability and WMC recommences toll treatment.

WGR’s next work programme includes an approximately 12,000-metre life-of-mine extension drilling campaign, final mine planning, water and site infrastructure work, contractor mobilisation and funding arrangements. The central question is no longer whether the expanded pit inventory can produce an attractive scoping-study model at the assumed gold price; it is whether the company can secure capital and processing access quickly enough to turn that model into an operating mine.