Summary
Golden West Wiluna West Project comprises 440km² of tenements, 30km south of Wiluna, covering a 45km strike of the Joyners Find Greenstone belt. The Wiluna region hosts significant gold, nickel, lead, uranium and iron ore mineralisation.
Major high grade iron resource project
The Wiluna West Project hosts some 147.7 Mt at 59.1% Fe with deleterious elements within sales specifications, contained within two iron ore ridges, Unit B and Unit C and collectively within nine ore bodies.
Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate category totalling 49.2 million tonnes (Mt) at 60.5% Fe.
In addition to the major high grade iron resource, the project also hosts a Gold resource of 87,000 oz outlined, and shows Uranium, calcrete style deposit potential.
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The Company controls almost the entire Joyners Find greenstone belt, having contiguous tenements covering a length of 45km for a total area of 440km². The Joyners Find greenstone belt is adjacent to the highly productive Norseman-Wiluna greenstone belt. The Greenstone Belt contains two regional shear zones known as the Joyners and the Brilliant Shear Zones. The Joyners Shear is the most significant structure in the area being at least 50km long and up to 1km wide. Both the Joyners and Brilliant Shear Zones are considered to be major controls of mineralisation within the project area.
During the September/October 2008 quarter a major resource upgrade was achieved taking the inferred resources at GWR's flagship iron (including the South 2 deposit) to 126 million tonnes at 59% Fe representing an increase of 46% over the reported September 2007 resource figure.
In Feb 2010 a significant resource upgrade - a 54% increase in Joyners Find hematite deposits, to 18.8Mt @ 63.3% Fe. to the high grade Joyners Find Deposit was completed. This took the Wiluna West global Mineral Resource 147.7 Mt at 59.1% Fe with deleterious elements within expected sales specifications. Indicated and Measured Resource Estimates have increased to 49.2Mt at 60.5% Fe. The resources continues to expand and ongoing drilling continues with a view to further increases.
Current activities
- Environmental study nearing completion with Flora and Fauna studies complete
- Native Title agreement at an advanced stage
- Draft feasibility study completed
- Mining approvals on track for production at Joyner's Find by end of calendar 2010
- Targeting circa 1 million tonnes per annum
- Market to existing iron ore producers as a blending product
- The focus of drilling and other studies in 2010 will be predominantly to convert Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources (>100Mt).
- Investigation of the potential for gold production
- Spin off non-iron assets
Other
In addition, the Wiluna project hosts a combined gold resource of 788,000 tonnes at 3.5 g/t gold for a contained 87,000 oz with considerable further potential.
Uranium potential exists on the most southern tenement, up stream from the calcrete hosted style uranium deposits of Dawson Well, Hinkler Well, Centipede and Lakeway.
Milestones
- RC drilling continues to define wide zones of mineralization outside of the current resource boundaries, allowing for further resource upgrades.
- The current JORC-compliant Inferred Resource consist of 126 million tonnes of Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) hematite at 59% Fe.
- Off-take agreements have been executed with Hunan Valin Steel Co., Ltd of China and Yijian Investment Co Limited of Hong Kong for up to 5 million tonnes of direct shipping iron ore annually for a period of 15 years.
- Hunan Valin and Yijian Investment Co have also subscribed for a total of 16 million shares in the Company at a price of $1.85 raising a total of $29.6 million.
- A prefeasability study is being undertaken by Engenium, with the results expected in mid-2009.
- KPMG has been engaged to undertake a strategic review of the Company's operations, with the results expected in mid-2009.
- Golden West Resources announced October 2009 that it had completed another significant resource upgrade at the Wiluna West Hematite Project. For the first time the inventory includes an Indicated Mineral Resource category totalling 42 million tonnes (Mt) at 60% Fe (30% of the total resource). The total Mineral Resource is now 141Mt at 59% Fe with deleterious elements within sales specifications.
- Golden West Resources announced February 2010 a 54% increase in Joyners Find hematite deposits, to 18.8Mt @ 63.3% Fe. This took Indicated and Measured Resource Estimates to an increased to 49Mt at 60.5% Fe. Ongoing drilling is currently underway to increase this figure further in preparation for the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). The Wiluna West global Mineral Resource was announced as 147.7 Mt at 59.1% Fe with deleterious elements within expected sales specifications.
Infrastructure
GWR has signed a foundation customer agreement with Yilgarn Infrastructure Limited to use rail infrastructure, berth and storage facilities, industrial facilities, ship loading and unloading and other infrastructure proposed to be financed and built by Yilgarn Infrastructure at the Port of Oakajee.
Yilgarn Infrastructure has also entered into a foundation customer and infrastructure agreement with Mid West Corporation Limited (now owned by Sinosteel).
Under the terms of the foundation customer agreement Yilgarn Infrastructure has undertaken to finance and build a railway connecting GWR's project at Wiluna West, via Weld Range junction, to the proposed port at Oakajee providing that all the required government approvals are given to the parties. GWR has taken a 20% interest in Yilgarn Infrastructure Limited. Yilgarn is the reserve proponent for construction of the port at Oakajee and GWR believes it retains rights to construct a railway network in the Midwest to transport ore from various mines to the coast. Yilgarn is backed by a consortium of powerful Chinese state-owned companies and has a line of credit with the Exim Bank of China. GWR believes that Yilgarn is the company with the greatest ability to construct a railway from Wiluna to the coast taking in Midwest's Weld Range deposits and linking up with a line from Gindalbie's Karara deposit. The railway will be open access and will encourage the development of additional mining operations in the Midwest.
Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance
The Company is one of seven members comprising the Geraldton Iron Ore Alliance (GIOA). The alliance is promoting the development of a successful iron ore industry in the Midwest region of Western Australia. The GIOA is assisting the members in dealing with the West Australian Government on sustainability including environmental and economic matters relating to mining of iron deposits and building the required infrastructure of rail and port to service this Midwest region.
