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Murray Ward
June 19, 2026 — 4:51pm
West Wits Mining has kicked the door down on its project funding, executing definitive loan agreements for a ZAR1.115 billion (A$96.7 million) finance package to drive its Qala Shallows gold project in South Africa toward steady-state production.
The deal, struck with South African banking heavyweights Absa Bank and Nedbank CIB, completes the company’s funding pathway and removes a key execution risk as it ramps up development of the country’s first new underground gold mine in more than 15 years.
West Wits Mining has nailed down a $96.7 million finance package to fire up its Qala Shallows gold mine in South Africa. The finance package comprises three distinct facilities: a $75.8 million senior loan, which forms the core capital backbone for project development, a $13.1 million revolving working capital facility and a $7.8 million cost overrun debt facility.
The latter two facilities provide the commercial flexibility typical of an operating mine, allowing West Wits to manage its cash flow cycle while maintaining a contingency buffer without the need for potential equity dilution.
‘The working capital facility and cost overrun debt facility now provide the commercial flexibility any operating mine requires.’
West Wits Mining chief executive officer and managing director Rudi Deysel The move positions the company to accelerate the ramp-up of Qala Shallows towards a targeted production rate of 70,000 ounces of gold per annum, starting in late 2028.
West Wits Mining chief executive officer and managing director Rudi Deysel said: “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.”
Notably, the funding is not backing a project still sitting on the drawing board. West Wits already has skin in the game, having delivered first ore from Qala Shallows in October last year before celebrating its maiden gold pour in March.
Just last month, it hit a major operational milestone when its underground decline punched through into the 2-level mining horizon, giving it access to historically established and unmined higher-grade production areas.
The Qala Shallows project represents just stage one of the company’s broader Witwatersrand Basin project, which sits in one of the world’s most prolific gold districts and boasts a global mineral resource of a whopping 7.24 million ounces of gold at a solid grade of 4 grams per tonne.
Planning is already underway for stage two, which aims to significantly up-scale by bringing additional mining areas and infrastructure into production. The company is currently advancing a scoping study, dubbed Project 200 , which is examining a much bigger operation capable of producing 200,000 ounces of gold per year.
The backing from two of South Africa’s most experienced mining finance institutions, Absa and Nedbank, serves as a powerful third-party endorsement for the project.
In a joint statement last month, the banks noted that Qala Shallows “represents the first new gold mine to be developed in South Africa in over 15 years, marking a significant milestone for the country’s mining sector.”
With the bankers now firmly in its corner, West Wits has removed one of the biggest hurdles facing any emerging miner. The company’s attention can shift squarely to growing production, expanding mining fronts and proving up the broader Witwatersrand opportunity.
Should Project 200 eventually come to fruition, Qala Shallows may prove to be just the opening chapter in a much bigger South African gold revival story.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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