- West Wits Mining (WWI) successfully mines the first ore at its Witwatersrand Basin gold project (WBP) located in the West Witwatersrand Basin goldfield in South Africa
- WBP hosts a JORC-compliant mineral resource of 29 million tonnes grading 4.58 grams per tonne gold for 4.27 million ounces of contained gold
- Managing Director Jac van Heerden says delivering the first ore is a historic moment for the company and paves the way for it to develop South Africa’s next large gold mine
- The company’s early mining initiative aims to mine 5000 to 8000 tonnes of ore to supplement WBP’s ultimate gold production target of up to 95,000 ounces per annum
- WWI shares up 8.89 per cent to 4.9 cents
West Wits Mining (WWI) has mined the first ore at its Witwatersrand Basin gold project (WBP) located in the West Witwatersrand Basin goldfield in South Africa.
WBP hosts a measured, indicated and inferred JORC-compliant mineral resource of 29 million tonnes grading 4.58 grams per tonne gold for 4.27 million ounces of contained gold.
The company said it was ultimately targeting gold production of up to 95,000 ounces per
annum, with an “early mining initiative” (EMI) slated to deliver about 5,000-8,000 tonnes of ore per month while project development continues.
“This is a historic moment for West Wits as we deliver our first ore from our WBP. I must compliment the team, whom were able to establish the site, rehabilitate the box cut and the declines and access the ore in a safe manner, all in a space of four months,” West Wits Managing Director Jac van Heerden said.
“This has created the benchmark and an example of how the remainder of the larger project will be executed.”
West Wits plans to develop the project through a phased approach.
The company said the EMI was intended to establish a small-scale operation to demonstrate the mining method designated for WBP and the EMI’s ore tonnes would supplement the tonnes from the planned larger mining operation.
WWI shares were trading 8.89 per cent higher 4.9 cents at 11:53 am AEDT.