WIN Metals Ltd (ASX: WIN), an Australian mineral exploration company with a portfolio of quality gold, nickel, and lithium assets across approximately 350 km² of granted tenure in the Southern Goldfields and Kimberley regions of Western Australia, has announced a significant milestone for its Radio Gold Project. The Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE) has officially approved the Mine Development and Closure Plan (MDCP) for the project, located approximately 8km north-west of Bullfinch in Western Australia. This approval is crucial for the company’s previously announced re-start study, which outlined a low-capital pathway to gold production through an integrated open-pit and underground operation.
The approved MDCP encompasses critical aspects of the project’s development, including the establishment of a new open pit, the recommencement of underground development and production activities, a planned lift on the existing tailings storage facility (TSF2), and the operation of a dedicated 120ktpa carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing plant along with associated infrastructure. Further progress includes the approval of a new Explosives Magazine Dangerous Goods license and a Yilgarn Shire Development Approval for a 44-room camp in Bullfinch, though building and Department of Water approvals for associated wastewater treatment remain pending.
In other project advancements, WIN Metals submitted a Works Approval application to the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) on 18 September 2026 for the processing plant construction and tailings dam lift, which remains under assessment. Equipment procurement and detailed implementation planning are ongoing as the company moves towards a final investment decision. Looking ahead, the acquisition and relocation of a Gravity Plant are set to commence on 16 November, followed by a 3,500m RC drilling program at Radio, Princess Royal, and Stumpy scheduled to begin on 20 November 2026. Managing Director and CEO, Mr Steve Norregaard, stated that the MDCP approval “heralds an important step in derisking the restart strategy for the Project,” adding that DWER works approval is now the “remaining regulatory hurdle.”
