Reserve update - ASX:WGX
Westgold Ore Reserve up 41% to 4.1Moz at 2.22g/t; Mineral Resource 14.4Moz, up 8% post divestments
Westgold's annual update puts gold Ore Reserves at 57Mt at 2.22g/t for 4.1Moz, up 41% after depletion and divestments. The Mineral Resource is 194Mt at 2.30g/t for 14.4Moz, up 8% after adjusting for divestments. Much of the reserve gain is the maiden 1.1Moz Fletcher Ore Reserve at Beta Hunt, which was announced on 18 August. Some grade comparisons are not like-for-like, and the currency of the reserve gold price is not stated.
(price sensitive) - Westgold Resources announced: "2026 Mineral Resource Estimate and Ore Reserves" (74 pages) - read the original
What investors must know
- Ore Reserve of 57Mt at 2.22g/t for 4.1Moz: Murchison 32.2Mt at 2.17g/t for 2.3Moz and Southern Goldfields 24.6Mt at 2.29g/t for 1.8Moz.
- Ore Reserve rose 41% on a divestment-adjusted basis (2,886koz to 4,068koz), after 360koz of depletion and about 1,546koz of resource development additions.
- Mineral Resource of 194Mt at 2.30g/t for 14.4Moz, up about 1.07Moz (8%) from 13.288Moz after adjusting for 2.967Moz of divested ounces.
- Measured and Indicated share of the Mineral Resource rose to 62.6% (FY25 reported: 56.6%), so about 37% of the total is Inferred.
- The company says reserve additions cost about $27/oz, a figure it derives from roughly $42M of exploration and resource development spend. It is not an all-in sustaining cost.
Disclosure checks - the ASX's own focus areas
- Drill-hole table (collars, dip, azimuth, depth, every intercept)n/a
- JORC Table 1, Section 1 - sampling techniques and datapass
- JORC Table 1, Section 2 - reporting of exploration resultsn/a
- Competent person statementpass
- No metal equivalents - grades as assayedpass
- Balanced reporting - low and high grades both shownn/a
No exploration results are reported, so balanced reporting of drill intercepts does not apply. The resource and reserve tables cover all operating and non-operating projects, including low-grade stockpiles and Inferred material, which supports balance.
- No visual estimates - assays onlypass
Red flags and notes
The 15% reserve grade rise and the Mineral Resource grade rise from 2.18g/t to 2.30g/t compare against FY25 figures as reported, before divestments. Figure 1 shows the FY25 post-divestment resource grade at 2.30g/t, so the like-for-like Mineral Resource grade is flat. The release adjusts the ounces for divestments but not the grade comparison.
Ore Reserves use a maximum gold price of $4,800/oz without stating whether it is US$ or A$, and Mine Revenue uses $5,500/oz. Without the currency and a sensitivity, a reader cannot judge how much of the reserve depends on price.
The $27/oz figure is company-derived from about $42M of expenditure over approximately 1.5Moz, and that arithmetic gives about $28/oz. Figure 14 shows 1,546koz of additions, which gives about $27/oz. The release does not show the expenditure reconciliation, and its comparison with the cost of acquiring reserve ounces is not supported by data.
The maiden 1.1Moz Fletcher Ore Reserve was announced on 18 August 2026 and is included in the 41% growth without separating it. The release cross-references that announcement in footnote 3.
Why these matter: JORC Table 1 - metal equivalents - balanced reporting - visual estimates
Resource / reserve
- Tonnes
- 194.0 Mt
- Grade
- 2.30 g/t Au
- Contained metal
- 14.40 Moz
- Measured + Indicated
- 63%
- What changed
- Mineral Resource up 8% to 14.4Moz after adjusting for divestments. Figure 5 bridges 16.256Moz FY25 reported less 2.967Moz divested gives 13.288Moz, then depletion of 0.360Moz, stockpile changes of 0.004Moz and resource development of 1.431Moz. Ore Reserve (inclusive of resource) is 57Mt at 2.22g/t for 4.1Moz, up 41% after divestments. Grade is up from 2.18 to 2.30g/t on a reported basis, but flat on the post-divestment FY25 basis shown in Figure 1.
How the price reacted
News signal positive, and on day 1 the stock moved +0.5% against the gold index (XGD). After 20 trading days: -4.8% against the XGD.
From the last close before the market could trade on it ($5.72 on 19 Aug 2026), with day-1 volume 1.5x the 20-day average.
WGX's past price-sensitive news
After 9 earlier announcements, WGX rose on day 1 7 times and fell 2 times - an average move of +1.5%.
DrillScore has no recorded share price reactions for Westgold, so past reactions to news of this kind cannot be described. Since release the shares closed at A$5.71, against A$5.72 before release, a change of about -0.2%. Over the same period GDX fell 16.1%, GDXJ fell 21.8% and the S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining index fell 8.9%. The release alone does not explain why the stock has held up against those funds.
Past reactions describe what happened, not what will. How prices react to results
The historical pattern
What share prices did after past results like this one, from DrillScore's own records. It describes the past: it isn't a forecast for WGX and it isn't advice.
After 41 other announcements read as 'positive', stocks moved +1.8% by day 1, +2.2% by day 5 and +1.1% by day 20 against the XGD on average.
- Day 1
- +1.8%
- Day 5
- +2.2%
- Day 20
- +1.1%
Only 2 of WGX's earlier announcements have traded - too few to show a pattern.
In the 20 trading days before this release the XGD gold index moved +22.2% (rising). After 38 past gold announcements released into a rising gold index, stocks moved +1.7% by day 1, +2.0% by day 5 and -4.4% by day 20 on average - before taking the market's own move out.
- Day 1
- +1.7%
- Day 5
- +2.0%
- Day 20
- -4.4%
A strand leans up or down when its day-5 average is 1% or more either way. Each is shown on its own and never added up into a prediction: small samples swing, and every result is different. The full backtest - how it's worked out
The market it landed in
| Market | On the day | Now | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold (US$/oz) | US$4,545 | US$3,886 | -14.5% |
| Gold (A$/oz) | A$6,418 | A$5,737 | -10.6% |
| Copper (US$/lb) | US$6.49 | US$6.09 | -6.1% |
| AUD/USD | 0.7082 | 0.6774 | -4.3% |
At release (19 Aug 2026) spot gold was US$4,545/oz (A$6,418/oz). Now it is about US$3,886/oz (A$5,737/oz), down 14.5% in US$ and 10.6% in A$. The Ore Reserve deck of $4,800/oz (currency not stated) was above spot at release. If it is US$, current spot is about 19% below it. The release gives no AISC, so margins at spot cannot be judged from the announcement. Headwinds since release include a stronger US dollar index (98.8 to 103.4) and a higher US 10-year yield (4.65% to 5.15%). A weaker Australian dollar (0.708 to 0.677 US) cushions the A$ gold price. Sector mood has been weak: GDX down 16.1%, GDXJ down 21.8%, COPX down 21.6%, and the S&P/ASX 300 Metals and Mining index down 8.9% since release. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index was little changed (-0.4%).
Against WGX's own history
DrillScore's database holds two earlier analysed announcements: 5 Aug 2026, a $22M Cue mill upgrade scoping study (scored 66, Strong), and 18 Aug 2026, the maiden 1.1Moz Fletcher Ore Reserve (scored 66), which is part of the growth in this release. No earlier drill intercepts, capital raisings or price reactions are on record. The last recorded cash was A$939M and undrawn facilities A$600M at 30 June 2026. This release shows Ore Reserves rising from 3.483Moz reported in FY25 to 4.068Moz in FY26, which is 17% on a reported basis. The company says it has had three consecutive years of reserve growth after depletion. The database cannot verify that claim independently.
Risks & caveats
- Grade comparison is not like-for-like: the 2.18g/t FY25 figure is pre-divestment, while Figure 1 shows the FY25 post-divestment grade at 2.30g/t, so on that basis the Mineral Resource grade is flat.
- The Ore Reserve price deck is US$4,800/oz or A$4,800/oz (currency not stated). Spot gold on 19 August was US$4,545 and is now about US$3,886, so the deck would sit well above current spot if it is in US$.
- Reserve growth leans heavily on one deposit: the maiden Fletcher Ore Reserve adds 1.1Moz of the 1.5Moz gross additions quoted.
- About 5.4Moz (37%) of the 14.4Moz Mineral Resource is Inferred, so conversion depends on future drilling.
What's next
- FY27 exploration and resource definition drilling of $50-75M, subject to operational priorities, market conditions and Board approval - FY27 (year to June 2027)
- Beta Hunt Fletcher and Mason drilling aimed at extending Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves - not stated
- Future mill expansion studies and hub-scale plan optimisation tied to growing reserve inventory - not stated
Questions worth asking
- What currency and sensitivity sit behind the $4,800/oz reserve price, and how many ounces would remain at lower prices such as current spot?
- What is the like-for-like grade change after restating FY25 for the divested assets?
- How much of the 1.1Moz Fletcher reserve and the 3.0Moz Fletcher resource is Measured and Indicated, and when is the next Beta Hunt drilling update due?
- What are the numerical cut-off grades for the Mineral Resource and the underground Ore Reserves, and what conversion of the Inferred 5.4Moz is planned in FY27?
- How will the $50-75M FY27 program be funded from the cash position, and when will the next quarterly Appendix 5B confirm spending?
What it means
For someone following Westgold, this is a constructive annual inventory update. Reported ounces and grades are higher, and the share of higher-confidence Measured and Indicated resources has risen. The points to test are how much of the gain depends on the Fletcher deposit, what gold price is assumed and in which currency, and whether the grade story holds once divestments are stripped out of the comparison. Gold and gold miner funds have fallen since release, which the reserve statement does not change. This is general information, not personal financial advice.
General information only - not financial advice. DrillScore's analyses are produced automatically by an AI model (Claude, by Anthropic) from the company's own ASX announcement and public market data, and scored by a fixed formula (how it works). They can be wrong or incomplete, don't consider your objectives or circumstances, and are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold anything. Always read the original announcement and consider advice from a licensed adviser.
Decoded 15 Nov 2026, 8:17 am by claude-haiku-5-5 - confidence: high. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
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