West African Resources leads gold rally on 10-year production outlook
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The news: West African Resources led a rally by Australian gold miners after setting out an updated 10-year production outlook across its Sanbrado and Kiaka mines in Burkina Faso.
The numbers: West African shares were up 6.9% to $2.64 at 2pm AEST, taking 12-month returns to 92%.
West African said it expects to see 4.8 million ounces of gold produced over the next 10 years, with annual production set to peak in 2029 at 569,000 ounces.
The miner is targeting an average of 480,000 ounces per year from 2025 to 2034. From 2029 to 2031 the average annual production target exceeds 500,000.
West African produced 206,622 ounces in 2024. It has guided FY25 output of between 190,000 and 210,000 ounces at Sanbrado, and between 100,000 and 150,000 ounces at Kiaka.
The context: West African said the mine plans at Sanbrado and Kiaka extend until 2035, with "strong potential" for further mine life extensions. Multiple drilling programs are already underway at Sanbrado to expand the reserve base in key areas.
Gold rivals Northern Star (+5.1%), Ramelius Resources (+4.3%) and Westgold Resources (+3.8%) also advanced today as the ASX 200 lifted 0.6%.
Bullion was last trading at around USD3,375 ($5,201), according to Bloomberg data, after gaining more than 3% over the previous four trading sessions.
