Brightstar joins million-ounce club with WA gold

Brightstar Resources has crashed through the one-million-ounce mark in a recent resource upgrade from multiple gold resources scattered across three main hubs in Western Australia.

Notably, the recent upgrade includes more than 300,000 ounces added to some of the company’s producing or near-mining deposits.

The updates include Brightstar’s Second Fortune, Fish and Lord Byron deposits in its Laverton hub and the Lady Shenton and Link Zone deposits at its Menzies hub. The results also include the first estimates the company has made for some of its recently acquired deposits.

A headline 34 per cent rise in the total measured and indicated gold ounces was achieved at Lord Byron, pushing the estimated resource at that deposit to 251,000 ounces at 1.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.

The gold grade improved by 25 per cent at its Lady Shenton System to 273,000 ounces grading 1.5g/t gold. Cork Tree Well recorded a 6 per cent rise in ounces to 292,000-ounces at 1.4g/t gold.

The mineral resources at Brightstar’s Second Fortune underground mine and Fish and Link Zone deposits also improved significantly by 23 per cent, 22 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively – albeit from lower bases.

The Fish deposit now stands at 49,000 ounces grading 4g/t gold in the measured and indicated categories, while Second Fortune measures 40,000 ounces at a whopping 13.4g/t gold. The Link Zone comes in at 29,000 ounces at 1g/t gold.

The results are drawn from Brightstar’s extensive 2024 infill reverse circulation and diamond drilling campaigns from surface at its Laverton, Menzies and Sandstone hubs and underground at the Second Fortune mine. The program aimed to de-risk mine areas for future production and support a planned release of a definitive feasibility study in the first half of 2025.

The company says the latest results significantly improve the quality of resources within its Goldfields and Murchison portfolios.

The intent of our drilling programs in 2024 and the mineral resource updates was clear – prepare these deposits for near-term development and dependable, deliverable mining operations. The infill drilling has provided increased confidence across the deposits and reduced geological risks for future mining, which will be crucial as Brightstar looks to progress the deposits towards production.

Brightstar will now feed the upgraded mineral resource information directly into its study workstreams for its imminent definitive feasibility study and finesse its nearly completed mining design, schedule, budget and economic models.

The 2024 campaign was designed to infill drill spacings at six key deposits – at Cork Tree Well, Lord Byron, Fish, Second Fortune underground, the Lady Shenton system and Link Zone.

Brightstar completed the Fish, Lord Byron and Second Fortune deposits in-house, while independent consultants ABGM handled the work for the Lady Shenton System, Link Zone and Cork Tree Well.

The company is now advancing its 2025 drilling program at full steam across its three WA hubs. It anticipates this year’s drill results will support future resource upgrades across its Goldfields and Murchison portfolios, particularly a potential medium-term update for its Yunndaga deposit within the Menzies hub.

Last week it began a second round of ore processing from its Second Fortune underground mine at its Laverton hub, delivering 55,000t of ore at more than 2g/t gold to Genesis’ Laverton mill in WA.

The ore parcel includes some feedstock from existing lower-grade stockpiles from the Laverton hub and is being processed under an ore purchase agreement with ASX-listed Genesis Minerals, in which Brightstar will deliver, sell and process up to 500,000t of ore through the Laverton Mill from its Laverton hub throughout 2025 and into next year’s first quarter.

Earlier this month, the company executed a $17.8 million revolving stockpile finance facility with specialist mining lender Ocean Partners Australia to bolster its working capital and provide flexibility for production growth at its Laverton gold mining hub.

The facility supports Brightstar’s present strategy of simultaneously building its current gold production through its ore purchasing agreement, delivering meaningful production growth by developing its Menzies and Laverton gold projects and rapidly advancing its Sandstone gold project.

This synchronised regional development profile underpins the company’s ambitious target of becoming a consistent 200,000-ounce-per-year gold producer within the next five years.

The financial reinforcement provides sufficient ongoing working capital for new developments, including the cranking up of the Fish underground mine production, which is pencilled in for the June quarter. It also allows Brightstar to remain unhedged and retain full exposure to any gold price upside.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au