Westgold Resources will spin out a suite of non-core gold assets in the Murchison region into a standalone operation which will share a chair with Chalice Mining.
Westgold Resources will spin out a suite of non-core gold assets in the Murchison region into a standalone operation which will share a chair with Chalice Mining.
Westgold’s Reedy’s and Comet brownfields gold projects will be demerged into a new entity called Valiant Gold, expected to list next year following an IPO.
The historic assets have a combined mineral resource of 15.6 million tonnes at 2.4 grams per tonne gold for 1.2 million ounces.
Once in production, Valiant is expected to supply ore from the mines back to Westgold on market terms for processing through its Cue and Meekatharra hubs.
Chalice Mining chair Derek La Ferla will serve as non-executive chair of a company to be led by managing director Brendan Tritton, who previously ran Mincor Resources’ Kambalda operations.
The pair will be joined by Westgold’s chief growth officer Simon Rigby and experienced mining professional Anthony Chamberlain.
Westgold managing director Wayne Bramwell said the company’s approach was to focus on larger, higher-grade assets, and that the demerger made sense for shareholders to realise full value for their investment.
“We see value in Comet and Reedy’s, but as they are not yet assets of scale, they are unlikely to be redeveloped by our team in the next three years,” he said.
“Demerging these assets is a capital efficient model for Westgold.
“In the hands of the Valiant team these assets have a real opportunity for fast-track development and with an ore purchase agreement, a line of site to first cashflow.”
Westgold will retain between 44 and 48 per cent of the new entity, with the IPO to raise between $65 million and $75 million before costs at an issue price of 25c.
Around $20 million of that mark will be made available to Westgold shareholders as a priority offer, before an institutional and broker firm offer to raise between $45 million and $55 million.
Mr La Ferla said the company would leverage its alignment with Westgold to make quick progress in a hot gold market.
“Valiant is poised to unlock significant value from our portfolio of historically productive gold assets and has a clear pathway to cashflow and growth,” he said.
“Supported by Westgold as our cornerstone shareholder and with access to their established processing infrastructure, Valiant is committed to building a resilient and sustainable gold business.”
Argonaut has been appointed lead manager to the IPO, with Thomson Geer appointed Australian legal advisor to the demerger and IPO.
The IPO is expected to be lodged in mid-February 2026, ahead of a listing in March.
Today’s demerger news comes days after Westgold revealed it had returned the historic Great Fingall brownfields goldmine to production, more than a century after it was last in production.
Westgold shares fell 2.8 per cent to $5.93.
