ASX-listed West Wits Mining has executed definitive loan agreements within the financing package of its Qala Shallows gold project, located on the West Rand of Johannesburg.

The agreement completes West Wits’ funding pathway to steady-state gold production.

The completion of the project finance package removes a significant execution risk and positions West Wits to accelerate the Qala Shallows ramp-up towards the targeted steady-state yearly production rate of 70 000 oz of gold from the second quarter of 2028.

Financial services companies Absa and Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking worked with West Wits on the current finance package, which comprises a R875-million senior loan facility, a R150-million working capital facility and a R90-million cost overrun debt facility.

“The execution of all three facility agreements marks the completion of our project finance package and a significant step forward in the delivery of Qala Shallows. The senior loan facility, announced in May, provides the core capital backbone. The working capital facility and cost overrun debt facility now provide the commercial flexibility any operating mine requires — ensuring we can efficiently manage our working capital cycle and maintain financial resilience through the ramp-up phase.

“With our funding structure complete and gold production already underway, the focus is entirely on disciplined operational delivery — advancing underground development, increasing ore delivery rates to the Ezulwini processing plant and building toward steady-state production,” says West Wits CEO Rudi Deysel.

West Wits has been reported as the first new underground gold mine to be developed in South Africa over the past 15 years, and this project has been backed by a definitive feasibility study-confirmed $500-million post-tax net present value gold price of $2 850/oz and a global Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant mineral resource estimate of 7.24-million ounces with a high concentration of 4 g/t gold.