Brightstar Resources has cleared a key regulatory hurdle at its Menzies gold project, receiving approval to commence open pit mining at the Lady Shenton deposit in Western Australia’s Goldfields.
The WA Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE) has approved the Mining Development and Closure Proposal (MDCP) for Lady Shenton, paving the way for production at the 352,000-ounce deposit, which sits within Brightstar’s broader 1.6-million-ounce Goldfields Hub.
With a native vegetation clearing permit already in place, Brightstar said Lady Shenton is now mine ready, positioning the company to move quickly as it finalises development planning.
Ore from the open pit is slated to be mined and trucked to Brightstar’s proposed carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing plant at Laverton, as outlined in the upcoming definitive feasibility study (DFS) 2.0 study.
“We are pleased to receive approval for the Mining Development and Closure Proposal for the open pit development of the Lady Shenton mine in Menzies,” Brightstar managing director Alex Rovira said.
“This signifies a key milestone for the development of our Menzies assets, which once in operation will represent the first mining to occur since the successful Selkirk mining JV in 2024,” Rovira said.
“With over 4 million ounces of mineral resources on granted mining leases, Brightstar has a strategic objective of developing both the Goldfields and Sandstone projects in the coming years as part of our aspiration to be a multi-asset, mid-tier scale WA gold producer.”
The company said updated mine planes from Yunndaga underground and Lady Shenton will be incorporated in the updated DFS 2.0 study.
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