Wiluna Mining clears debt and targets 220,000 metres of restart drilling

Byrnecut loan repaid in full

Wiluna Mining Corporation Limited (ASX:WMC) has removed the largest immediate balance-sheet constraint in its mine restart plan, repaying the remaining approximately $40 million under Byrnecut’s secured loan facility. The payment, funded from the company’s recent IPO, will release Byrnecut’s security over Wiluna’s assets and tenements.

The repayment was an intended use of the IPO proceeds, rather than a new financing development. Alongside the conversion of all outstanding convertible notes into Wiluna shares, it leaves the company with no outstanding secured debt or borrowings. Managing Director Victor Rajasooriar described the outcome as the completion of the balance-sheet reset set out in the IPO prospectus.

IPO funds move from recapitalisation to mine work

Wiluna’s next task is more operational than financial. The company says it intends to deploy IPO funds over the next two years on underground resource definition and grade-control drilling, surface exploration, technical studies and infrastructure needed for a potential restart. The plan comprises approximately 80,000 metres of underground drilling and 140,000 metres of surface drilling.

That program was already part of the company’s $180 million restart raising, which was presented to investors after a processing-tank rupture halted revenue-generating operations. Wiluna’s announcement does not provide a detailed post-repayment cash balance or a timetable for renewed production, so the debt clearance improves financial flexibility without, by itself, establishing that mining will restart.

Drilling to test a 7.1Moz resource base

The company’s stated objective is to improve confidence in underground Inferred Mineral Resources, convert some of that material into Measured and Indicated Resources, and examine open pit opportunities. Wiluna reports a total Mineral Resource of 91.7 million tonnes at 2.41 grams of gold per tonne, containing 7.1 million ounces, as at 31 January 2026. The figures include underground, open pit, satellite, tailings and stockpile resources.

Technical studies are expected to follow the drilling campaigns and underpin restart plans for both underground and open pit operations. Surface infrastructure projects will also be completed as part of the restart plan, but the announcement leaves the eventual operating configuration and timing dependent on drilling results, studies and execution.

Debt risk falls, execution risk remains

Wiluna now has a cleaner capital structure and no secured lender claim over its project assets, which is a meaningful change for a company seeking to move from recapitalisation back towards development. The harder question is whether the planned drilling and technical work can convert the resource base into a restart plan capable of supporting production and revenue. The company has not supplied a new production forecast in this announcement.