Australia’s Westgold Resources has restarted high-grade gold mining at the Great Fingall mine, near Cue in Western Australia (WA), delivering the first production from this historic gold reef in more than 100 years.
The restart of mining at Great Fingall marks a major milestone for Westgold, opening access to new high-grade ore in zones last mined between 1891 and 1918.
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The company stated that it had fired the first stope at Great Fingall, commencing extraction from reef sections that previously yielded 1.2 million ounces (moz) of gold from 1.9 million tonnes (mt) of ore.
Great Fingall is forecast to achieve full production by 2027, delivering around 500,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of high-grade ore to Westgold’s Cue processing hub.
This will augment feed from the nearby Big Bell mine, which provides more than one million tonnes per annum.
The Great Fingall mine’s restart aligns with Westgold’s 2026 financial year (FY26) guidance, which projected initial ore from higher-grade stopes in the second quarter (Q2) of FY26.
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By GlobalDataThe average initial gold grades from the first stopes are above three grams per tonne (g/t).
The move signifies Great Fingall’s shift from development to production, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone asset within Westgold’s Murchison operations.
The mine is expected to ramp up progressively through FY26, targeting a combined steady state production output of around 40,000 tonnes (t) per month by late FY27.
Ore produced from Great Fingall will provide high-grade feedstock to the Cue processing hub, complementing Big Bell’s bulk tonnage and supporting improved operating margins.
Westgold will continue underground drilling into the lower open extents of several lodes at Great Fingall, aiming to extend the current six-year mine life.
The mine benefits from strong infrastructure and is being run under a three-year underground mining contract with Barminco.
Westgold managing director and CEO Wayne Bramwell said: “The recommencement of stoping at Great Fingall is a proud achievement for all at Westgold and the WA underground mining community.
“This historic mine, which produced over 1.2moz of gold at outstanding grades in the early 1900s, has now been revitalised as a modern, high-grade operation through our strategic investment in the Murchison portfolio. The high-grade output from Great Fingall will complement the volume from Big Bell, strengthening our operations and creating lasting value for our shareholders.”
In April this year, Westgold Resources divested its Lakewood Mill processing facility near Kalgoorlie, Australia, to the Black Cat Syndicate for a total consideration of A$85m ($53.2m).
