West African Resources has announced promising drilling results at its Sanbrado gold mine in Burkina Faso, indicating the potential for a significant open-pit mine-life extension. New drilling intercepted gold mineralisation more than 300 metres below the current reserve limits, suggesting a deeper ore body than previously estimated. West African Resources is an Australian-based gold producer focused on developing and operating gold mines in West Africa. The company’s primary asset is the Sanbrado Gold Mine.
The drilling program beneath the M5 North open pit confirmed the continuation of mineralisation at depth. These results are expected to underpin a cutback study, which is scheduled for completion in early 2026. A cutback study assesses the economic viability of expanding an open-pit mine by excavating additional material.
The exploration program will continue into the next year, with further drilling planned to delineate the extent of the deeper gold reserves. Results from this ongoing drilling will be incorporated into updated resource and reserve estimates, which will inform the company’s 10-year production outlook due in the June quarter of 2026.
Executive chairman Richard Hyde noted that these deeper drilling intercepts have strengthened the case for extending open-pit mining operations at Sanbrado. Final drilling results from the current program are anticipated in the first quarter of next year, providing further data for the upcoming studies and resource updates.
