GWR shares up on mining start

Upcoming producer GWR Group has begun mining its high-grade iron ore deposit in the Mid West, sending its shares up by 20 per cent.

The C4 deposit is a direct shipping ore (DSO) operation, set to produce 1 million tonnes from its 21.6mt resource estimate at an average grade of 60.7 per cent iron.

It forms part of GWR’s larger Wiluna West operations.

Yesterday, the company received formal approval to begin stage one mining works, being undertaken by Pilbara Resource Group and subcontractor Dynamic Drill and Blast.

The northern haulage road being built by PRG is more than 65 per cent complete and proceeding on schedule, GRW said today.

The company is negotiating shipping and haulage contracts, as well as offtake agreements.

Its shares closed up more than 20 per cent on the update to trade at 24 cents, which is GWR's highest share price since March 2018.

It comes only days after GWR secured the rights to export iron ore from the Port of Geraldton, and the commodity’s price reached a seven-year high of about $US136 per tonne.

Chairman Gary Lyons said GWR was a step closer to becoming the next listed iron ore producer.

“With production mining operations having commenced and with the current buoyant Iron ore price we are eager to meet our target of first ore shipment in early 2021 and exploit this strong commodity cycle,” he said.

GWR, formerly Golden West Resources, is targeting its first shipment in January.