For those of us who experienced the losses and disappointments of the Blackham era, I believe that there is now genuine potential for us to recoup some losses and maybe even turn a profit.
To understand the Wiluna story, it's necessary to look at the big picture. This is a massive gold field, with several large scale gold systems and high grade zones. The current mineral inventory of 3.11 million ounces @ 5.81g/t gives an indication of the size of the project, but there are huge areas still underexplored or not explored, and just 8 km from the main Wiluna mining camp is the Regent discovery, which could turn out to be another Wiluna.
Over the years, the huge scale of the project has probably contributed to the management problems of allocation of resources, and where to focus expenditure of limited capital. Much of the time, management was in survival mode rather than capitalising on expansion of the still untapped rich resources, and fluctuating gold prices contributed to the problems.
In recent years, huge progress has been made. Over 3,000km of drilling has been carried out at an equivalent cost of over $250M, infrastructure has been built or upgraded, including the power plant, development of 12Km of underground drives, installation of extensive electrical and ventilation systems, upgrade to the 300 person village and airport, large-scale dewatering, buidling a new 10 year tailings dam, commissioning of the CIL, gravity and flotation circuits, and the new Wiltails retreatment processing plant, which is due for commissioning before the end of this year.
WMC currently has three mining areas (Bulletin, Happy Jack North and Happy Jack South), and a fourth mining area is being developed at Bulletin North. Production from the four main processing circuits is ramping up towards full production by the end of 2022, and it is estimated that the company will be able to produce at least 120,000 ounces annually for at least 10 years, with the potential to ramp up production to 200,000 ounces p.a. in Stage 2.
The new concentrator was commissioned in December 2021, and the new underground mine combined with commissioning of the multi-circuit processing plant, new infrastructure and extensive drilling, sets the scene for major progress by this little ugly duckling which might soon become the goose which lays plenty of golden eggs.
In addition to the massive gold potential, WMC has the battery metals JV underway with ACAP Energy, who are funding the development of the nickel and lithium potential.
Happy days ahead? Even at today's gold price, I believe that the future for WMC is looking a lot brighter, especially with the changes in management and strategy. If the predicted gold bull run comes to fruition over the coming 12 months, we could all have some very happy days.
Mike
WMC Price at posting:
21.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
