Brightstar Resources is seeing strong progress in earthworks for its 1.5 million-tonne-per-annum processing plant south of Laverton in Western Australia, just as its Lord Byron site finalised mine design and preparation for open-pit mining activities to begin later this year.
Both sites are part of Brightstar’s wholly owned Goldfields project, which is on track to produce 75,000 ounces of gold per annum from July 2027 for an initial mine life of six years.
The Laverton site also saw its first concrete pour for CIL tank footings ahead of schedule, which Brightstar said signifies a material “project kick-off milestone”.
Mobilisation for site establishment is set for the September quarter of 2026 in Lord Byron, and its open-pit mining will build ore stockpiles ahead of mill commissioning in the June quarter of 2027.
Progress is also strong at Second Fortune, with high-grade ore being stockpiled for processing next year. Brightstar said the ore is expected to deliver first-year production upside compared with the Goldfields definitive feasibility study 2.0, which did not include Second Fortune.
Current run-of-mine stocks at Second Fortune sit at about 30,000 tonnes at 3 grams per tonne of gold, with Brightstar targeting about 50,000 tonnes at 3 grams per tonne, or around 5000 contained ounces, by the end of August.
Brightstar managing director Alex Rovira said the update showed the company was continuing to deliver against its development schedule.
“Construction activities at our Goldfields Project continue to progress on time and on budget, with the Project remaining on track to achieve first gold in June 2027,” Rovira said.
“This progress underscores the strong execution capabilities of the Brightstar team and our EPC partner, GR Engineering.”
Bulk earthworks have been completed for the SAG mill and CIL plant pads, while steel fabrication has begun for the primary crushing area.
Detailed engineering has reached 60 per cent completion, including key hazard and operability review milestones, and remains on track to hit 90 per cent completion in August.
Rovira said Brightstar’s early engagement with GR Engineering had helped the company get ahead of key construction requirements.
“Central to maintaining this strong momentum has been the strategic pre-FID early works arrangements with GR Engineering, with this proactive partnership enabling Brightstar to secure a significant head start on ordering long lead-time items and project development – an approach that is now delivering dividends through de-risked schedule and budget performance,” he said.
“This has positioned Brightstar well against a backdrop of increasing demand for gold processing plant EPC services industry-wide in Western Australia.”
Brightstar has also purchased deferred-premium Australian-dollar gold put options covering 60,000 ounces of production between July 2027 and March 2029.
The options have an exercise price of $5809 per ounce, equivalent to about $US4000 per ounce, with the $31 million deferred premium settlement to be funded from production cash flows.
“Additionally, we have further de-risked our planned production ramp-up period through the purchase of deferred-premium put options covering 60,000 ounces of production to protect early revenues and provide a floor price while maintaining full gold price exposure to the upside,” Rovira said.
The company is also continuing exploration and optimisation work across the broader Goldfields portfolio, alongside studies for a potential 2.5-million-tonne-per-annum throughput expansion.
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