Ben Pollard on the new strategy for WA Gold formerly BMG Resources

Added: 2026-05-04

[00:00:07]Welcome back to making money matter, ladies and gentlemen. I'm your host Kerry Stevenson. Ben Pollard is the CEO of WA Gold. The ASX code is WAU. Now, they were formerly BMG Resources. That's why I want Ben to come on, but not only that, they've got a very strong scoping study out this week. Want to talk about that because this the project could become a mine. I could be getting ahead of myself as well, but I'm going to let Ben talk all about that. Ben, great to see you. Thanks so much for joining us. This is the first time on the channel. So, let's just start off by saying First Firstly, who are WA Gold and then why the name change from BMG?

[00:00:46]Yeah, thanks for having us, Kerry. Um, good to be here. Um, we've changed our name to really highlight our focus on WA Gold, strangely enough. Um, Yeah, yeah. Funny about that. It seems a bit Seems a bit weird. Um, so we've we've moved to change the name. We've uh added a few personnel to the to the company. We've um beefed up our technical and managerial uh capabilities.

[00:01:11]And that's all a concerted effort to, you know, drive towards Excuse [clears throat] me, drive towards um producing gold. We're looking to monetize our our key um our key project, which is uh Abercromby, and turn that into a money maker for us and uh enjoy the fruits of of the gold boom, essentially. Um, you know, and then I suppose organically we can uh reinvest money into our other projects and uh just build as much wealth as possible for our shareholders. Oh, I love that.

[00:01:42]I'll bet the shareholders do as well.

[00:01:44]Not financial advice, ladies and gentlemen, never is. Um, I I need to When you say producing gold, normally I speak I'm speaking to people and you know, they're in exploration and even if they're in development, it takes a little while. So, talk to us about where you're at in the journey.

[00:02:01]Uh yeah, well, we're actually a fair way down the track in relative sense. Um, we have a granted mining lease, which is great.

[00:02:10]We've got a a really good, you know, solid um resource behind us at Abercromby.

[00:02:17]Um, just over half a million ounces, which is uh nothing to be sneezed at.

[00:02:21]Uh we have essentially, you know, a position in one of the the best areas of WA or or Australia to go mining um with regards to infrastructure. And we've got a a bunch of ideas that will, hopefully, if they come to fruition, turn into, you know, um low capital uh execution points for us. So, that is toll treating um and the like.

[00:02:47]You're fairly still still a fairly small market cap. How long have you been in the hot seat?

[00:02:53]Myself, I've been in the hot seat uh since February and it has been a um all all hands on deck, that's for sure. It's been quite hectic um getting getting everything tied up in in a in a format that we can roll out with, you know, extra people uh that have come on board. We're delegating tasks and ensuring that we get the most out of our people and the most out of our contractors, etc. Um, so yeah, there's been a lot going on. Um, we have, you know, multiple projects, so that again is is multiple fronts there.

[00:03:25]Um, you know, spending your time between um projects such as Bullabulling, um Abercromby, obviously, which is the focus, and then, you know, the odds and sods with the other projects.

[00:03:36]Um, so yeah, it's been it's been a hectic time, but it's been rewarding and I can see us building towards something that's, you know, um actually delivering something of value.

[00:03:44]Okay. So, go through it if you wouldn't mind methodically. As I said at the start, this is the first time on the program. You've mentioned Abercromby.

[00:03:52]You've mentioned Bullabulling. There are people out there that might not know who you are. So, first of all, why the focus on Abercromby and then we'll talk about some of the other projects.

[00:04:03]Yeah, sure. Um, the focus on Abercromby, it's it's pretty much the the piece of fruit that's ready to pick, really. It's uh it's good It's good to go. It's low hanging. It's uh you know, it's it's the closest one to tangible um monetization.

[00:04:18]Um, and in this gold market, obviously, you know, there's a bit of a race on um to to try and get these things into production.

[00:04:27]Make the most of uh a healthy gold price.

[00:04:31]Bullabulling's probably second second tier and >> Ben, sorry to stop you on um on that just before we go to Bullabulling.

[00:04:38]Yeah. You You've got a scoping study out on Abercromby?

[00:04:42]Yes. Yeah, we just released the scoping study a couple of days ago. Okay. So, let just do the numbers on those for me as well because people will say, "Okay, well, what what is that scoping study looking like and why are you so confident?"

[00:04:55]What they're looking for, my beautiful audience out there, they're going, "40 mil market cap, about 3 cents a share, where's the value?" They're going to be asking, "Where's that shareholder value?"

[00:05:06]Yeah, well, I think the scoping study speaks for itself. The underlying cash flow at around 270 million um undiscounted is quite healthy for a less than 5-year project. Um, we're pretty happy the way that's come up. There is a a low capital um or it's characterized by being low capital um development. We have relied on assuming that we will toll treat our our dirt and hence um the capital up front is quite low.

[00:05:37]Um, what what is the capital up front?

[00:05:39]Capital up Capital up front is 8 million Oh. at this stage. So, very very low, very lean and mean.

[00:05:46]Yeah. Um, and yeah, obviously that bodes well for uh for turning a turning a buck pretty quick.

[00:05:53]And And what And again, sorry to to just to to absolutely tease it out of you, if you like. Um, what have you got? How big is it? What's the deposit look like? I know they can go and fully look at the scoping study, but just for the purpose of this.

[00:06:07]Yeah, absolutely. Um, it's it's actually one of the really good points of the the scoping study.

[00:06:12]So, of the 518,000 oz that we have in in global resources, uh the scoping study considers just under 115,000 oz. So, if you like, it's a you could, you know, sort of uh slate it as a fast start, low cap um getting in >> [snorts and clears throat] >> and make some money top of a play. So, um it it sort of sets a a base under value, really, and it allows us to get in, get financial, and then Love it. develop the rest of the deposit without the financial constraints that often come with, you know, heavy debt burden. Yeah, and and so how I Is it literally almost like a quarry? Are you just digging dirt and then sending it off on trucks and getting it toll treated? Is that what we're looking at?

[00:07:00]I'm simply >> It It That's That's a simple case, but uh a simple example, but it's not too far off. Essentially, there's a uh dirty big hole that we dig in the ground and then once we finish that, we can we can put a tunnel in and uh or add a portal site and go underground. So, the two components of this project are open pit and underground. And a lot of the value is derived in the um in the underground portion of that project.

[00:07:26]And how far When you say um it's an 8 mil cap ex, how fast are you going to be starting this?

[00:07:33]Uh we're looking to start, we hope internally, that we'd be mining by the end of next year or early '28. So, there's a few things to regulatory hoops to jump through as as for everyone that goes down this path, but essentially, you know, there's some things that can't be rushed such as um flora and fauna top surveys and and all the regulatory stuff that we have to get done. So, um we're pretty pretty motivated to make sure that we get it done as soon as we can, but by the same token, we don't want to sort of commit to something that's um you know, outrageously um >> [laughter] >> Yeah. Uh do it properly. Do it properly.

[00:08:10]Do it once. Yeah. Ben, what attracted you to WA Gold?

[00:08:16]Um, well, I've been working with the the board of uh what was BMG, now WA Gold, for a while now since uh well, actually, before 2020, but I came on board uh BMG in 2020 um as a uh as exploration manager {slash} technical guy.

[00:08:34]Um, to be honest, the the big attraction with um WAU has been the large um ounce inventory or resource inventory at Abercromby.

[00:08:45]Um, and me being a more of a mining uh geologist, I naturally sort of have an affinity for turning a project on and uh and getting it going.

[00:08:58]Okay. So, So, that's Abercromby. That's the That's the focus. Have you Have you got the funds or you need to probably raise a bit of capital to get it underway?

[00:09:07]Uh look, we will have to raise again, but we're obviously looking forward to doing that at a much higher share price.

[00:09:12]Of course. Uh you also mentioned Bullabulling.

[00:09:17]Yep. So, probably our second tier project. Um, quite strategic in its location geographically, next to some uh reasonably big players or a big player in particular. Um, we've got a pretty strategic holding out there um along the same stratigraphy as the Bullabulling gold mine, um which is a historic mine being redeveloped by uh MI6. Um, we've got some really good ground out there that um in time, in the fullness of time, in the next um month to 3 months, something like that, we'll be getting on the ground and and really pushing um our exploration efforts there to bring in, I suppose, a parallel pipeline um of projects that can complement Abercromby.

[00:10:04]Is it along the same sort of structure as the others around you? Is Are you away from it? Just explain to us a bit more around the geology, if you like.

[00:10:13]Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So, it is it is along strike of the um yeah, the stratigraphy that hosts the Bullabulling Main deposit. Okay. Um so, that's quite an exciting um you know, >> [snorts] >> asset in that regard. Um that ultramafic that trends out in the contact that, you know, with the granite that trends out of Bullabulling Main does, yeah, hooks its way up through our ground, and we have some strategic portions of that under our tenure.

[00:10:40]How much work have you done out there at the moment? Have you got much data out there? And also, while I'm on that subject, has anyone else been uh exploring out there? Who's had it before you?

[00:10:52]Yeah, there has been a long list of uh previous owners, and some of them have been the big guys like Pancon and companies that have turned, you know, that have sort of come out of Pancon. Um we've done several drill programs ourselves out there. We've done quite a lot of um soil sampling and and base orientation work.

[00:11:12]Um a couple of years ago, we were focusing on it, and we acquired it, in actual fact, due to its lithium potential. Um Oh. Um in drilling for lithium, we obviously reviewed the gold potential and decided that, you know, this thing was um could fly as a as a gold project as well as lithium project. So, um we are quite familiar with it. We have been doing quite a bit of work, and uh as things heat up with the gold price, obviously, it's become a bit more strategic in our you know, strategic asset in our stable.

[00:11:43]If And have you got some other projects as well?

[00:11:47]Yeah, we do. So, we've got a couple of um well, actually, third third cab off the rank is uh Invincible, which is in the Pilbara.

[00:11:54]It's a a small hot well, small, but uh has been a typically small producer in the past at at quite high grades, over 1,000 g per ton. Oh. Um Okay. Yes. Yeah, which is which gives it gives it a bit of potential, gives it a bit of uh yeah, um Pay attention.

[00:12:12]bit of Hollywood to it.

[00:12:13]Um we we haven't done too much there. We are in the process of We have done some work in terms of um ground work and um first pass.

[00:12:24]Uh we have looked to the continuations of the um Calidus or ex-Calidus mine up at Klondyke there, rolling being on the same structure. So, we have looked to towards uh that thing, you know, rolling through our ground and hopefully providing some some decent targets.

[00:12:44]We're in the midst of getting a bunch of approvals done uh to get on the ground out there. And later this year is when we plan to to go and test that uh historic mine and see if we can replicate some of those high grades.

[00:12:59]How big's the ground holding that you've got up there?

[00:13:02]Uh it's circa 20 K's by 10 K's, so a couple of hundred square. Big enough.

[00:13:08]Big enough. Yeah, between several tenements. Uh between several tenements. And And do you own that 100%?

[00:13:15]Yes, that's correct.

[00:13:17]All right. And what else have we got in the portfolio?

[00:13:21]And then the last one is probably a bit of a sleeper, but it's down in elephant country down in the southwest of WA, um just near the Boddington Gold Mine. Oh, yes. So, we're calling it We're calling it Well, we call it the Boddington Boddington South Boddington project. Um essentially, that is uh that ground is is quite uh strongly tied up by various holders and state agreements, but we do have our hands on a um on an application down there, which we hope in the fullness of time will turn into a a granted um tenement, which we can then go and sort of apply some modern exploration to.

[00:13:53]Okay. So, if I was to summarize all of this, the first cab I like the way you say cab off the rank. First cab off the rank is Abercromby.

[00:14:01]That one is You could almost call that pre-development.

[00:14:05]Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, always moving towards development on that on moving towards it quite quickly. Yeah. And then you've got Bullabulling, uh the second cab, then Invincible, and then and then [clears throat] South Boddington. But Invincible uh being in the Pilbara, are there only certain times that you can go cuz be bloody hot up there, I I'm assuming.

[00:14:27]Yeah, you you don't really want to get Yeah, right. Plan to get in summer for that. You You'd want to try and reserve those uh field trips for the winter, where possible. Yeah. But um we we'll do what we have to do. Absolutely, though, she's pretty warm up there. And And given your background, uh does Invincible Is Invincible one of those ones that you look at and go, "You know what? It could be a very big source of This is coming from somewhere." You just I think you just said 1,000 g, didn't you?

[00:14:55]Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Over 1,000 g per ton in production, small scale. That is small tonnages for a for a number of ounces there, but um very high grade, very lucrative. Um like I say, if you can tap the the source of that, you'd be doing pretty well. Yeah. Um and that would obviously be the the payoff there.

[00:15:11]Um it you know, is is it Is it binary?

[00:15:14]Maybe, you know, the outcome is uh is, you know, average or really good. Yeah.

[00:15:20]Yeah. When you drill it. Yeah. Once you start drilling it, ladies and gentlemen, you can you can either go it's a duster or it's a muster.

[00:15:27]Must do. Must do. Um So, Ben, well done. Uh you've only been in the as I call it the hot seat for a very short period of time.

[00:15:36]What do you think people should be sitting up and uh because because as I said before, your market cap's only about 40 mil.

[00:15:44]Mhm. Just before we go into that little bit, what's the structure? How many shares on issue? What have you got cash-wise? Just give us that sort of overview because one of my dear friends, Jeff, over in the States says, "Show me a company structure."

[00:15:58]Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Well, we've got just over 1.2 billion shares on issue. Mhm. Um and we are, you know, trading at circa 3 cents. I haven't had a chance to look at it today, but Yeah, it's And that gives the um and that gives the market cap you mentioned.

[00:16:13]Uh >> [snorts] >> pretty undervalued for, I believe, what we've got.

[00:16:17]Um and that's really just about us getting to the market now, and hence [clears throat] us being here today, but getting to the market, um telling them what we're going to do, setting out a good list of milestones, and then and then hopefully uh knocking them over. Yeah. Showing to the market that we can do it, and we can deliver.

[00:16:35]And then it's real. That's the most important.

[00:16:38]Do you Do you think the market hasn't quite cottoned on because When did you change the name from BMG?

[00:16:45]Uh the name change was only, I think, two two trading days ago. Yeah. Okay.

[00:16:50]Brand new then, ladies and gentlemen.

[00:16:51]Used to be BMG. And do you think the market is still because BMG had a few different things. You said lithium. And do you think that now you've rebranded as WA Gold, your focus is gold, do you think that that might almost do a re-rating for the company?

[00:17:06]Yeah, look, that's what we're hoping, you know, the the um background of BMG was um as Brazilian Metals Group, um an iron ore show in Brazil. Right. Um and so, we're we're just cutting those ties to a large degree and and focusing, you know, on the future rather than looking back. Okay. Um so, with everything that we sort of acquired and managed to put together under the WAU logo, um I think, you know, that's pretty pretty positive for the future, especially in the current gold price environment. Yeah.

[00:17:36]Okay. Well, uh we're running out of time, so let's wrap it up, and let us know I was asked this, three reasons why you think people should be sitting up and taking notice [clears throat] of WA Gold right now.

[00:17:49]Well, great exposure to to a a bull gold market. Mhm. We are undervalued, um I believe, quite quite substantially.

[00:17:58]And what would be the third one?

[00:18:00]To be honest, those two pretty knock out knock [clears throat] out the third, but uh I'll give you So, I'll give you the third. The third one is scoping study out, ladies and gentlemen, and, you know, the the the capex at 8 million to get them into production at Abercromby. I think that would be fairly compelling. I'd give I'd give that number three.

[00:18:21]I think I think that ties into my my number two, but absolutely. All right, mate. Well, listen, it's been really really great to to speak to you. And by the way, ladies and gentlemen, uh as I always say, it's not financial advice. If you've got questions, reach out to Ben. If there's something that I haven't answered for you, uh take a look at the scoping study. It is on their website.

[00:18:40]Uh and also, uh they will be attending the Australian Gold Conference, which is in October in Sydney, so you can go and talk to Ben directly during that time.

[00:18:49]But if you like this interview, please like, subscribe, and share with others the story of WA Gold. Ben, great to chat to you. Thanks for joining me today.

[00:18:58]Thanks, Kerry.