WIN Metals has lodged two major Western Australian permit applications covering the proposed restart of its Radio Gold Project. The milestone advances the project toward construction, but funding, approvals and a final investment decision remain outstanding.
- Mine Development and Closure Plan lodged with DMPE
- Works Approval submitted for a 120,000tpa processing plant
- Proposed restart covers open pit and underground mining
- Radio resource stands at 49,600 ounces at 4.2 g/t gold
- Funding and final investment decision still required
Two permits move Radio towards development
WIN Metals Ltd (ASX:WIN) has lodged the regulatory applications needed to take its Radio Gold Project from a redevelopment concept towards construction. The company submitted a Mine Development and Closure Plan to Western Australia’s Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration on 11 September, followed by a Works Approval application to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation on 18 September.
The applications do not represent approvals to build or restart the mine. They do, however, put the project’s proposed mining, processing and tailings infrastructure before the relevant authorities, giving WIN a defined regulatory pathway for the next stage.
120,000-tonne processing plant proposed
The Works Approval covers construction of a new 120,000-tonne-per-year gravity and carbon-in-pulp processing plant, together with an embankment raise at the existing TSF2 tailings storage facility. WIN says the raised facility would accommodate 450,000 tonnes of new tailings.
The proposed operating model combines open pit and underground mining at Radio with onsite processing. Yilgarn Precious Metals, WIN’s wholly owned subsidiary, already holds environmental licences for mine dewatering and a Class II putrescible landfill site; the new application seeks approval for beneficiation of metallic or non-metallic ore.
Existing infrastructure supports restart case
Radio has a long production history, with about 71,000 ounces of gold produced between 1918 and 1974 at an average head grade of 38 grams per tonne. Underground operations were re-established in 2018 using the existing shaft, alongside a new surface portal and 330 metres of decline, while a shallow open pit was also completed.
WIN says the site remains dewatered, with underground infrastructure in place. Its 2026 Mineral Resource Estimate totals 366,000 tonnes at 4.2 g/t gold for 49,600 ounces, comprising 25,500 ounces in the Indicated category and 24,100 ounces Inferred. That is a resource estimate, not an Ore Reserve or a production forecast, and the company’s proposed restart remains subject to further technical, regulatory and financial work.
Funding and final investment decision remain ahead
Managing Director and CEO Steve Norregaard said the permit lodgements establish a roadmap towards redevelopment, allowing the company to focus on funding requirements, a final investment decision and potential mine-life extensions through extensional drilling and regional resources.
That sequence is the important qualification. WIN has lodged the applications, but the announcement provides no approval timetable, financing commitment, construction date or production guidance. The next material markers are the DMPE and DWER assessment outcomes, followed by evidence that the company can fund and formally approve the proposed build.
Bottom Line?
The permit lodgements make Radio more concrete, but the project still needs regulatory clearance, capital and a final investment decision before infrastructure becomes production.
Questions in the middle?
- When will DMPE and DWER respond to the lodged applications, and what conditions could they impose?
- How will WIN fund the proposed processing plant, tailings raise and mine restart?
- Will further drilling convert Radio’s resource base into a longer or more robust development plan?