West Wits Mining Limited has kicked-off its Qala Shallows gold project in the south-west of Johannesburg, after undertaking extensive preparatory work to ensure that the project will be delivered safely, productive and within budget. Service supplier agreements have been executed with initial orders placed and the first piece of equipment to be delivered this week.

The company is finalising a $14M placement which provides funding for key activities it has identified. It has also brought onto the share register several resource focussed institutional investment funds, family offices and new sophisticated and professional investors. The recruitment of these new cornerstone investors provides a solid platform to finance, over the longer term, further expansion plans being developed for Qala Shallows and the overall Witwatersrand Basin Project (WBP).

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Having secured the funding, West Wits is moving quickly to deliver on its prioritised plans which include executing an agreement with the 10% minority holder of West Wits SA (WWSA) to buy-back its entire holding, increasing the company’s holding to 100%, and thereby increasing its ownership of Qala Shallows and WBP from 66.6% to 74%.

The transaction will be facilitated through an advance of circa US$5M to WWSA which will be credited to the existing intercompany loan and ultimately repaid through the proceeds of operating the Qala Shallows gold mine, with the buy-back to likely be implemented in mid-to-late July.

CEO, Rudi Deysel comments: “As West Wits Mining advances to becoming a gold producer, we will continue to focus on ways to realise the potential of the stunning Witwatersrand Basin Project to further grow the business we are starting.”