West Wits Mining adds almost half a million gold ounces to Witwatersrand
West Wits Mining has firmed up 3.67Moz in contained gold at its Witwatersrand Basin project in South Africa.
West Wits Mining (ASX: WWI) has added almost half a million ounces of contained gold to its global resource inventory at its 66.6%-owned Witwatersrand Basin project, which is located in the world’s largest producing gold field in South Africa.
Global gold resources have grown 428,000 ounces to reach 3.67 million ounces of the precious metal.
The average overall gold grade is 3.4 gram per tonne, with more than 2.4Moz of contained gold classified as measured and indicated.
According to West Wits, the new resource is based on the K9B conglomerate band and includes recent and historic data.
West Wits chairman Michael Quinert said the company plans to continue exploration during the second half of the year and secure two mining permits.
Witwatersrand project
West Wits Witwatersrand project includes two historic mining centres within the region’s famed Witwatersrand Basin, which has been mined since 1886 and produced around 1.5 billion ounces of the precious metal during this time.
The company’s Witwatersrand project historically produced 41Moz at an average gold grade of 5g/t.
West Wits is targeting open pit and underground opportunities at its asset, with “significant” areas of the tenements remaining untouched by previous mining.
Additionally, West Wits has been producing gold from the Kimberley Central open pit. Between September and May, West Wits netted A$160,000 in cash proceeds from the operation, with monthly production averaging 15,000t.
The operation has delivered the company free cash flow since November 2017, which West Wits is directing into ongoing exploration and development across its tenements.
Numerous targets at the project have been identified for West Wits for follow up.
“A solid recovery in gold production from the Kimberley Central open pit for May-June should underpin the necessary cash flow to continue funding project development as West Wits prepares to scale up production over the balance of the year,” Mr Quinert said.
By late morning trade, West Wits’ share price had lifted more than 5% to A$0.02.