Metal Bank Ltd. is moving to accelerate the Homestead and Winja gold deposits in Western Australia towards early production, scheduling a targeted diamond drilling campaign to commence in September.
The upcoming drilling program at the Homestead deposit, located within the company’s Livingstone gold project, will gather essential geotechnical data and metallurgical samples to refine mine planning and advance the project towards a targeted 2027 production commencement.
A mining lease application (MLA) is currently in progress for the combined Homestead and Winja deposits, which hold a combined JORC 2012 mineral resource estimate of 1.129 million tonnes at 1.36 grams per tonne gold for 49,600 ounces.
Metal Bank previously evaluated starting production at the smaller Seven Leaders deposit within its Whiteheads Project, however, opted to prioritise Livingstone due to its significantly larger scale and favourable gold pricing environment.
The revised development pathway targets bringing Homestead into production first, followed by the nearby Kingsley deposit, where a separate Mining Lease application was recently lodged.
Kingsley hosts an Inferred Resource of 1.68 million tonnes at 1.35 g/t gold for 73,000 ounces, contributing to Livingstone’s broader global resource of 122,500 ounces.
Metal Bank CEO Tim Gilbert said the pivot delivers a more compelling commercial outcome for shareholders.
“We have carefully assessed the relative economics and shareholder value of commencing production at Seven Leaders versus Homestead,” Gilbert said.
“With gold prices now significantly higher than the AU$4,500/oz assumption used in the Livingstone MRE, together with Livingstone’s substantially larger resource base and the opportunity to expedite production from Homestead, followed by Kingsley and further targeted expansions, we believe Livingstone offers a more compelling pathway to scalable gold production in WA.”
Gilbert added that exploration will continue across the Whiteheads tenements to expand its resource footprint prior to future mining operations.
Mine planning and processing studies for the conventional open-cut operation at Homestead are well-advanced, alongside environmental closure plans and infrastructure sterilisation drilling ahead of 2027 production goals.
