Mincor Resources has poured first gold from its Widgiemooltha project in Western Australia and is on course to deliver 40,000 tonnes of ore per month to Westgold Resources’ nearby Higginsville plant.

The first pour, from material sourced from the start-up upper benches of the Flinders and Bass pits, comes only 15 months after the company released a definitive feasibility study on the project. This outlined plans to recover a total of 65,863 ounces of gold over an initial mine life of 19 months at a 60,000 t/month rate.

The strategy somewhat changed with the delivery of an enhanced feasibility study in March that detailed a 40,000 t/month rate and the recovery of 71,700 oz over a two-and-a-half year timeframe. This provided an undiscounted after-tax cash flow of A$30.7 million at a A$1,600 per ounce gold price.

As of July 25, the company’s full toll parcel for the month of August was already stockpiled and ready for delivery to the Higginsville plant, 35 km away. Mincor has a 12-month processing pact in place with Westgold.

Mincor’s Managing Director Peter Muccillio said the gold cash flows would help “accelerate the company’s ongoing nickel exploration programmes” at its Kambalda nickel portfolio in Western Australia. Here Mincor has defined more than 99,000 tonnes of nickel resource grading 3.6% Ni in the measured, indicated and inferred categories.