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Andrew Todd
Pacgold Limited has inked a new deal in South Australia to produce gold from its Wadnaminga project, opening the door to reprocess old waste dumps near its flagship White Dam heap leach operation.
The tie-in with private owner Grainger Gold adds heft to the company’s heap-leach gold strategy in the region, setting up a 50-50 split of profits from future mining or gold retreating at the project’s New Milo and Great Eastern hard rock mine sites.
Under the deal, Grainger Gold will handle lease maintenance, payments and access rights, while Pacgold will take charge of approvals, operations, costs, gold sales and quarterly profit distributions.
The project sits just 80km southwest of White Dam and benefits from existing infrastructure at site.
The company says historical output from small-scale operations at the Wadnaminga mines yielded nearly 20,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 37.88 grams per tonne during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
The mines tapped into narrow, high-grade gold veins that dipped steeply underground, reaching depths of up to 140 metres, though Pacgold believes much of the gold was left behind in waste dumps – estimated to hold 20,000 tonnes of old tailings.
Pacgold plans to resample and test this material, potentially drilling it to assess remaining gold that could be recovered at the White Dam heap leach operation as gold production kicks off again after a 20-year hiatus.
‘The deposits at the Wadnaminga site have never been systematically explored and the old timers were focused on the ounce grade dirt.’
Pacgold Limited managing director Matthew Boyes
The company says the new project has seen no modern exploration, leaving an undeveloped vein system stretching about 700 metres along strike, with high-grade oxidised material outcropping and ready for initial drill targeting.
The ground here has never been fully probed, creating an opportunity for Pacgold to outline a resource and move swiftly towards extraction. In the meantime, the surface heaps and pads will be checked first and if they stack up economically, they’ll head to White Dam for re-crushing and processing.
Pacgold Limited managing director Matthew Boyes said: “Pacgold continues to expand its footprint in the Broken Hill region and add potential short-term sources of ore to be leached at the White Dam facility. The deposits at the Wadnaminga site have never been systematically explored and the old timers were focused on the ounce grade dirt, leaving behind any material with sub-bonanza grade.”
Acquired last year, Pacgold’s soon-to-be-producing White Dam project already features open pits, a heap leach facility, and a processing plant, offering a straightforward route to cash generation.
By trucking material from nearby sites such as Wadnaminga, the company aims to feed the operation with low-risk feed, extending its life and funding exploration elsewhere.
The companies say fieldwork at Wadnaminga is due to kick off in mid-March, with sampling and drilling of stockpiles and extensions, as well as permit applications for broader evaluation.
The drill bit will be set the task of hunting for wider, lower-grade zones – areas where gold is spread more thinly but could add volume – beyond known records.
In a market buoyed by firm gold prices amid economic shifts, Pacgold’s emphasis on near-term leaching and disciplined spending looks likely to deliver value and cash flow quickly. In turn, the funds will be used to explore across its broader portfolio, including the company’s promising Alice River gold project and its St George gold-antimony play in Northern Queensland.
With Wadnaminga now in the mix, Pacgold has fresh ground to test its heap leach approach, potentially turning historical remnants into modern returns as the company presses ahead in 2026.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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