Brightstar Resources receives nod to start gold mining at Fish underground

Brightstar Resources is now focused on executing its development plans after receiving approvals to mine its Fish underground gold project near Laverton.

Brightstar Resources will be developing its Fish underground gold project after securing final approvals. Pic: Getty Images

• Brightstar Resources secures approval to start gold mining at its Fish underground project

• Company now has three sources of ore to feed into its ore purchase agreement with Genesis Minerals

• Underground portal development to start in April 2025 with first ore production in the June quarter

Special Report: Brightstar Resources has unlocked a third source of ore that will feed the Laverton mill under its ore purchase agreement with Genesis Minerals after securing approvals to start mining at its Fish underground project.

With the receipt of the key Mining Proposal, Mine Closure Plan and Mining Operations Notice approvals from WA’s Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, which allow mining operations to start, Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) plans to develop the underground portal in April 2025 with first ore production to start in the June quarter.

Camp construction at Fish is well advanced with an initial 48-rooms and ancillary camp buildings now on site and being installed.

Workshop, offices, communications tower and power station installation is also on schedule while the earthworks and Fish pit access ramp remediation works have already been completed.

The company is also leveraging its pre-existing owner-operate model at the operational Second Fortune underground mine to advance fleet mobilisation and recruitment of key personnel to support mining operations at Fish.

Construction is on budget and schedule.

Separately, BTR has started ore haulage from existing Lord Byron stockpiles to complement the high-grade material being hauled from Second Fortune.

Fish mine showing underground development. Pic: Brightstar Resources

Focus on development

Managing director Alex Rovira said the receipt of the final permitting approvals for Fish is a pivotal moment for the company.

“With these permits now in place, we are now fully focused on executing our development plan to bring our second underground mine rapidly and safely into production,” he added.

“The team has made excellent progress with site establishment, camp construction and infrastructure readiness, and we remain on track to deliver first ore from the Fish underground to Genesis’ Laverton Mill in the June quarter 2025, reaffirming our ambition to establish Brightstar as an emerging multi-mine Western Australian gold producer.

“Excitingly, upcoming exploration activities at Fish will target extensions to the current mineral resource envelope to support potential mine life extension through targeted RC/DD drilling at depth.

“The deepest drill intersection at Fish indicates that the high-grade mineralisation is still open at depth and represents upside to the current mine plan."

De-risking gold production

With the mining approvals for Fish and the start of ore haulage from the existing Lord Byron stockpiles, BTR now has three sources of ore from which to feed into its OPA with Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD).

This agreement allows BTR to process up to 500,000t of ore over the course of 2025 and Q1 2026 at the Laverton Mill.

Cash flow from the OPA will help fuel the company’s expansion plans, which include aggressive exploration in parallel with the anticipated release of its definitive feasibility study for the wider Laverton-Menzies development and the refurbishment of its wholly owned processing plant near Laverton.

In a note today, Argonaut Securities maintained its speculative buy recommendation for BTR, saying the development of Fish underground is a key de-risking pathway as it will increase ore sources that feed the Laverton mill to three.

Argonaut has a 5c target on BTR, which is currently trading at 2c for a market cap of $240m.

The broker added that completing the definitive feasibility studies for the Laverton and Menzies hubs, which are currently underway, presented a key near-term catalyst for BTR.

Fish itself is part of the Jasper Hills project that was the subject of a scoping study released in March 2024 that delineated a mining inventory of 190,000t grading 4.4g/t, or 27,000oz contained gold, over a 13 month mine life.

Final mine designs, an upgraded resource estimate and the declaration of an ore reserve is being completed by the company and will be released to the market once finalised.

This article was developed in collaboration with Brightstar Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Brightstar Resources receives nod to start gold mining at Fish underground