S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold stock Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) is soaring higher on Wednesday.
Westgold shares closed yesterday trading for $4.48. In morning trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands for $4.76 apiece, up 6.3%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.3% today.
The Western Australian gold miner has been on a tear these past two months. With today's intraday boost factored in, Westgold shares are now up 88.1% since market close on 1 August, supported in part by a surging gold price.
Here's what's catching investor interest today.
Image source: Getty Images
ASX 200 gold stock lifts off on growth plan
Investors are bidding up the Westgold share price today after the company released its three-year production outlook.
The ASX 200 gold stock said its "high confidence plan" will see costs come down and production ramp up.
Management noted that the plan is conservative in that it excludes several organic growth opportunities, including the Fletcher Zone prospect at Westgold's Beta Hunt gold mine. The Fletcher zone is emerging, with resource definition drilling underway to determine the scale and optimum mine design.
The three-year production plan is based on the miner's current portfolio of operating assets. And it's based on:
- 2025 Ore Reserves (56 Mt at 1.93 g/t Au for 3.5Moz of gold)
- Westgold's four processing hubs (~6Mtpa processing capacity)
- Increasing mine outputs and mill feed grades (to further enhance operating margins)
If all goes to plan, the ASX 200 gold stock's all-in sustaining costs (AISC) will fall while gold production is forecast to increase to 470,000 ounces a year from FY 2028. That's up from the 326,000 ounces delivered in FY 2025.
And investors will have noted that Westgold expects to be able to fully fund the growth capital and exploration expenditure to support the three-year plan with its existing balance sheet and forecast cash flows.
What did management say?
Commenting on the three-year outlook that's boosting the ASX 200 gold stock today, Westgold CEO Wayne Bramwell said, "Westgold's three-year outlook (3YO) articulates a high confidence, executable plan that sees the business step up from 326koz of production in FY25 to more than 470koz by FY28."
Bramwell added:
It provides a baseline for a larger, more profitable and sustainable gold producer. Most critically this growth is organic and fully funded. The outlook is underpinned by realistic production forecasts, cost assumptions and focuses on maximising the performance of our existing processing infrastructure to drive our costs down…
The 3YO is conservative by design.
Atop the recent share price gains, the ASX 200 gold stock trades on an unfranked 0.7% dividend yield.
