- Junior gold miner West Wits Mining (WWI) has bolstered the mineral resource estimate (MRE) of its Witwatersrand Basin Project (WPB) in South Africa
- The upgrade comes after a detailed review of historical data from the Kimberley Reef East Project, which is part of the wider Witwatersrand project
- Now, the project’s MRE has been boosted by 0.48 grams per tonne of gold and 700,000 ounces
- The total resource estimate is now 4.37 million ounces at an average of 3.88 grams per tonne of gold
- West Wits is now planning 2500 metres of diamond core infill drilling while it completes a bankable feasibility study in the area
- Shares in West Wits are up over 58 per cent at a nine-year high of 6.8 cents
Junior gold miner West Wits Mining (WWI) has bolstered the mineral resource estimate (MRE) of its Witwatersrand Basin Project (WPB) in South Africa.
The company told shareholders this morning that following a detailed review of historical data from the Kimberley Reef East Project within the WBP area, both the average grade and size of the WBP MRE have been improved.
The average grade of the WBP MRE has been upgraded to 3.88 grams per tonne of gold — an increase of 0.48 grams per tonne. At the same time, the MRE has been upgraded from 3.67 million ounces to 4.37 million ounces at a 2-gram-per-tonne cutoff.
Of this new resource estimate, 912,000 ounces fit the measured category, 1.79 million ounces fit the indicated category, and 1.67 million ounces fit the inferred category.
The new Kimberley Reef East MRE, which underpinned the increase in the WBP project resource, now sits at 1.5 million ounces at 5.3 grams per tonne of gold.
West Wits Managing Director Jac van Heerden said the upgraded resource of the WBP gives the West Wits team a massive boost of confidence in the mineralisation and mine modelling the company is currently taking on.
“4.37 million ounces at a robust grade of 3.88 grams per tonne of gold further solidifies the fact that we have a substantial project at the WBP,” Jac said.
“We are confident in the anticipated granting of the Mining Right and that we will be able to bring the WBP into production relatively quickly given our plan for toll treatment at nearby facilities and easy access to the underground workings,” he said.
The company is now planning to kick off 2500 metres of diamond core infill drilling for the Kimberley project area in November. This drilling is designed to convert roughly half of Kimberley’s inferred resource in its initial five-year mine plan to measured and indicated categories.
At the same time, West Wits is busy progressing a bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the WBP. First production from the project is slated for the second half of 2021.
It seems investors like today’s upgrade, with West Wits shares up 58.1 per cent at trading at a nine-year high of 6.8 cents at 11.31 am AEDT.