WIN Metals Ltd. has obtained approval from the Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration for its mine development and closure plan of its Radio gold project in Western Australia.
The project is moving closer to production following a restart study that detailed a low-capital pathway to gold extraction. The plan outlines an integrated open-pit and underground mining operation feeding a dedicated 120,000-tonne-per-annum carbon-in-leach processing plant.
The newly approved plan covers open-pit development, the recommencement of underground mining, a lift on the existing tailings storage facility, and the operation of associated processing infrastructure.
WIN Metals has also received approval for a new Dangerous Goods licence for an explosives magazine, alongside local development approval from the Yilgarn Shire for a 44-room workers’ camp behind the Bullfinch Tavern.
A separate Works Approval application for plant construction and tailings dam expansion remains under assessment with environmental regulators.
WIN Metals Managing Director and CEO Steve Norregaard said the approval significantly de-risks the company’s operational strategy.
“Approval of the Mine Development and Closure Plan heralds an important step in derisking the restart strategy for the project,” Norregaard said.
“With ongoing funding discussions, site preparatory works and detailed technical planning for execution on foot, the company is well poised for a successful recommissioning in the New Year.
“Works approval now becomes the remaining regulatory hurdle prior to process plant and tailings dam construction activities commencing.”
Preparations on site are accelerating ahead of a final investment decision. The company is set to begin relocating an acquired gravity plant, while a 3,500-metre reverse circulation drilling program targeting the Radio, Princess Royal, and Stumpy prospects is scheduled to commence.
Historically, the Radio gold project produced approximately 71,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 38 grams per tonne.
