Westgold inks water agreement with Australian Vanadium

Excess water from Westgold’s operations, which are 25 kilometres from the Australian Vanadium project, will be used to process the latter’s ore.

Australian Vanadium will bear the risk and cost of any works undertaken, while Westgold has vowed not to object to Australian Vanadium’s proposed miscellaneous licence applications so it can extract and establish infrastructure for pumping and relocating water from Westgold’s Reedy open pit – an underground mine at Westgold’s Central Murchison project.

Both companies will also use each other’s access roads for ore movement within their tenements.

“AVL (Australian Vanadium) continues to de-risk the Australian Vanadium project,” managing director Vincent Algar said. “Securing access to sufficient quality water resources to use in the mining and crushing milling and beneficiation plant planned for the nearby Australian Vanadium project is one of our highest priorities.”

“Western Australia has limited high quality water resources, so innovative collaborations such as this agreement with Westgold can assist both the Environment Protection Authority and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation with their water management and environmental custodianship, whilst allowing this critical project to progress.”

Westgold receives continuous inflows of water into its active and inactive pits and underground mines that are beyond the company’s requirements.

Australian Vanadium has been working with Westgold through the Meekatharra industry group. The companies also shared their sponsorship of the youth-focussed Stephen Michael Foundation, for which they received the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies Community Award in December last year.

The letter of agreement is set to formalise within three years.

Westgold also launched a placement to raise $45 million and accelerate the growth of its Central Murchison gold projects.

The additional funds will be used to expand the company’s internal mining services division to internal and external opportunities.