Westgold Resources’ boss named chairman of Esperance-focused rare earths explorer OD6 Metals

The boss of the newly expanded Westgold Resources has added another string to his bow — he is now independent non-executive chairman of Esperance-focused rare earths explorer OD6 Metals. OD6 told the ASX on Thursday that Wayne Bramwell had replaced founding chairman Darren Holden, who will transition to a non-executive director role and remain as a geological adviser to the company. OD6 made its ASX debut in June 2022, and is focused on the flagship Splinter Rock clay-hosted rare earths project 150km north-east of Esperance, as well as the Grass Patch rare earths project between 30km-100km north of the coastal town. An updated mineral resource estimate for Splinter Rock released in May confirmed the project “hosts the largest and highest-grade clay-hosted rare earths deposit in Australia” of 682 million tonnes at 1338 parts per million total rare earths oxide. Dr Holden has been chairman since before the company’s $8 million initial public offering, and overseen the drill-out and technical studies at Splinter Rock. “With the key geological discovery made and considering the current REE market/sentiment, it is time to hand over the reins to someone with the calibre of Wayne to assist in navigating our path to growth,” he said. Mr Bramwell said he was a firm believer in the long-term fundamentals of the critical minerals sector. “(I) have admired the progress that OD6 have made in advancing the Splinter Rock project into one of the largest and highest-grade clay-hosted rare earths deposit in Australia,” he said. As Westgold Resources managing director and chief executive, Mr Bramwell has overseen the $2.7 billion merger with Goldfields miner Karora Resources which came into effect last week. Karora, which operated the Beta Hunt and Higginsville mines in the Goldfields, and the Lakewood mill just south-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, was a Canadian company — and on Wednesday Westgold started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Westgold, which also has operations in the Murchison, is now Australia’s fifth-biggest gold miner, and Canada’s 10th-largest, producing more than 400,000 ounces a year. It has an ore reserve of 3.2Moz and mineral resources of 13Moz.