Westgold Resources has completed a A$33.3 million infrastructure program at Beta Hunt, where an annualised 2Mtpa mining rate was reached in September. The company is now targeting sustained performance at that rate from Q2 FY27, while warning that the mine’s original life-of-mine ventilation system still requires repair, recommissioning or replacement.
- A$33.3 million Beta Hunt infrastructure program completed
- Annualised 2Mtpa mining rate achieved in September
- Sustained 2Mtpa target begins from Q2 FY27
- Q1 production of 98,393oz at A$2,912/oz AISC
- Treasury rises to A$1.04 billion, with no debt or hedging
Beta Hunt reaches the 2Mtpa threshold
Westgold Resources Limited (ASX:WGX; TSX:WGX) has crossed a key operational threshold at Beta Hunt, achieving an annualised mining rate of 2 million tonnes in September after completing a A$33.3 million program aimed at removing long-standing infrastructure constraints. The company is targeting sustained performance at that rate from Q2 FY27, although the target refers to mining throughput rather than finished gold production.
The work covered ventilation, dewatering, water supply, power distribution and underground services. Beta Hunt had historically been unable to sustain mining rates above about 1.4Mtpa before Westgold acquired the operation in August 2024. The company says the upgrades have established a platform for more consistent delivery, but the performance still has to be demonstrated across future quarters.
Interim ventilation solves an immediate constraint
The most consequential fix was an interim primary ventilation system commissioned at the end of September, ahead of schedule. It is designed to provide sufficient airflow for approximately two years at a 2Mtpa mining rate while Westgold works with the vendor of the original life-of-mine fan system to rectify bearing and coupling failures, and considers alternative options.
The interim system reduces the immediate risk that the ventilation problem will constrain the mine plan, but it does not make the underlying equipment issue disappear. Westgold says the original system will be repaired, recommissioned or replaced, while the interim installation is expected to be repurposed elsewhere in the group once the long-term arrangement is restored.
Strong quarter funds the expansion program
The Beta Hunt update arrived alongside a solid first quarter. Westgold produced 98,393 ounces in Q1 FY27 at an AISC of A$2,912 per ounce, broadly matching the previous quarter’s 98,854 ounces despite planned processing maintenance and wet weather in the Murchison. The company maintained FY27 guidance of 385,000 to 425,000 ounces at an AISC of A$2,980 to A$3,380 per ounce.
Mine operating cash flow reached A$292 million, supported by a realised gold price of A$6,029 per ounce and an A$3,117 per ounce AISC margin. Cash, bullion and liquid investments increased by A$101 million to A$1.04 billion at 30 September, while Westgold remained debt-free and fully unhedged. Its reported underlying treasury build was A$251 million before buy-backs, growth and exploration spending and other specified items, so the two figures describe different stages of the quarter’s cash movement.
Ore stockpiles create room for higher utilisation
Mining improvements are already showing up in inventory. Group ore stockpiles rose 51% to 696,000 tonnes, equivalent to about six weeks of mill feed at installed capacity. Beta Hunt mined a record 423,000 tonnes in the quarter, while Southern Goldfields stockpiles increased 34% to 211,000 tonnes.
That buffer matters because the Higginsville processing facility has installed capacity of more than 1.6Mtpa, and Westgold says a larger stockpile should support fuller utilisation while establishing a start-up inventory for a potential expanded Southern Goldfields processing hub. The company’s FY29 production pathway already envisages group production of 460,000 to 510,000 ounces by FY29, with Cue and Meekatharra expansions forming the base plan.
Fletcher remains the longer-term prize
Westgold also increased group Ore Reserves by 41% to 4.1 million ounces, including a 1.1Moz maiden reserve at Fletcher. That reserve had been outlined in the company’s Fletcher maiden reserve announcement, but Fletcher remains outside the formal three-year outlook.
Seven underground rigs are working at Beta Hunt, with six focused on reserve conversion at Fletcher and one on resource extension at Mason. Southern Goldfields expansion studies are expected in Q3 FY27 and are assessing either a new 4Mtpa processing hub near Beta Hunt or an expansion of Higginsville to process 4Mtpa of Beta Hunt ore. Neither scenario has yet become an operating commitment, leaving the next test straightforward but demanding: whether a mine that has briefly touched 2Mtpa can sustain it while converting that throughput into reliable, lower-cost production.
Bottom Line?
The infrastructure program removes an important Beta Hunt bottleneck, but the investment case now turns on repeatable 2Mtpa mining, stable ventilation and the conversion of extra ore into mill feed and cash flow.
Questions in the middle?
- Can Beta Hunt sustain a 2Mtpa mining rate through Q2 FY27 and subsequent quarters?
- How quickly will Westgold resolve or replace the unreliable life-of-mine ventilation system?
- Will the larger stockpile translate into higher Higginsville utilisation before the Southern Goldfields expansion studies are completed?