West African Resources Limited
West African Resources holds 85% interests in the producing Sanbrado gold mine and the Kiaka gold project in Burkina Faso, reporting record group gold production and a record A$847 million cash balance in the March 2026 quarter despite ongoing sovereign-risk headwinds in-country.
Notable vs. Peers
- Jurisdiction risk score of 4/10 is meaningfully riskier than the peer average of 7.8/10.
Lifecycle Milestones
Construction Milestones
5 of 5 reached- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
- Mar 2020 · Source
- Reached — date not disclosed · Source
Milestones are recorded only from a company's own dated disclosure. A milestone with no date shown is one we can confirm was reached but for which no date was disclosed — we don't estimate one. "Not yet reached" means exactly that, not that a date is missing. An "Expected" line likewise only ever reflects the company's own guidance (e.g. a study or permit decision targeted for a stated quarter) — most not-yet-reached milestones have none, and that absence means no such guidance has been disclosed, not that one is overdue.
Not in place: grid power.
Combined view across 2 projects. Figures below are only combined where the underlying basis genuinely matches -- see the notes under each.
- 27%Kiaka
- 20 yrsKiaka
Jurisdiction (40%)4/10
Burkina Faso — elevated West African political and sovereign risk, including a history of coups and an announced pending state acquisition stake in the Kiaka mine.
Infrastructure (40%)7.1/10
A confirmed mill, confirmed road access, no confirmed grid power, and a confirmed tailings facility at Sanbrado Gold Operations (incl. Toega).
Nearby producing mine (20%)Not yet researched
No project coordinates on file yet, so distance to a producing mine can't be measured.
Acquisition Susceptibility
A relative ranking of how closely this company matches the profile of juniors that have actually been acquired — not a probability, and not a reason to buy. Acquisitions are rare: only a few dozen significant deals happen a year across a universe of thousands of juniors, so even a high score here describes a long shot. The strongest signal in the research, a producer that already owns part of the company, is scored from its disclosed strategic shareholders. A producer that is a joint-venture or earn-in partner on the project, rather than a shareholder, isn't captured yet.
How this score is built
- Disclosed pending dealSub-score: Not scored
No pending acquisition or merger disclosed (checked)
Not scored: having no deal in flight isn't held against a company.
Weight 26.25% - Producer's strategic stakeSub-score: Not scored
No producer holds a disclosed stake on file (holder register researched) See holders
Not scored: most juniors that do get bought had no prior toehold, so a missing stake says little either way.
Weight 25% - Distance to a producing mineSub-score: Not yet researched
Distance not yet researched: no project coordinates on file
Distance can't be measured without coordinates, so excluded rather than counted as far.
Weight 22.5% - Lifecycle stageSub-score:5.5/10
Stage: Production
Feasibility and permitting score 10, where deals cluster, and production 5.5; earlier stages score less, down to 1 at grassroots.
Weight 15% · 57% here - JurisdictionSub-score:4/10
Burkina Faso: jurisdiction score 4/10
Our jurisdiction score, used as is: higher means lower political and permitting risk.
Weight 6.75% · 26% here - CommoditySub-score:10/10
Primary commodity: Gold
Gold 10, copper 8, silver 5, nickel and uranium 4, others 2: most majors' deals are for gold.
Weight 4.5% · 17% here
Weight is each input's share of the full score. “Here” is its share of this company's score: inputs that aren't scored are left out and the rest re-weighted, never counted as zero.
Your Rankings
Management Team
Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary of West African Resources Limited since Jun 2018. Chartered Accountant; BComm, University of British Columbia. Career: Commercial Manager at Placer Dome Inc., continuing at Barrick Gold Corporation through Barrick's 2006 acquisition of Placer Dome; CFO & Secretary roles at Consolidated Rutile Ltd. (2008-2009), Jabiru Metals Ltd. (2009-2011), Barminco Pty Ltd. (2011-2012), Navigator Resources Limited (2012-2014) and VDM Group Limited (2014-2018), immediately before West African Resources.
Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Chairman of West African Resources Limited, which he founded in 2006. Australian geologist, 30 years of mining experience. Led the Company through its 2010 IPO, a major gold discovery in 2016, and first gold production at the Sanbrado mine in 2020 (completed 6 months ahead of schedule, US$20 million under budget), building it into an ASX 200 mid-tier gold producer. Earlier career: senior consultant at RSG Global, based in West Africa and Australia, and regional manager for West Africa.
Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of West African Resources Limited. BSc (Geology), University of Western Australia. Career: COO of Equigold NL's Ivory Coast operations, managing development and feasibility of the Bonikro Gold Mine (first production 2008); various positions at Equator Resources, NT Resources and Alchemy Resources; Mine Manager, Regis Resources Ltd, immediately before West African Resources.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
Dedicated gold funds do hold West African Resources -- VanEck's two actively managed gold funds together held 5.6%, and Sprott's vehicles a further 3.9%. The serious caveat is that every one of those holder records is from late 2020 or early 2021, and the company has gone from developer to producer since, so treat the register as historic rather than current. What is current is insider selling: six on-market sales by four directors between Nov 2025 and Jun 2026, and no purchases at all.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
West African Resources owns 85% of the Sanbrado gold mine (including Toega) and the Kiaka gold mine in Burkina Faso, with the State holding 15% of each; Sanbrado poured first gold in March 2020 and Kiaka in June 2025. Its statement at 31 December 2025, published in March 2026, reports 9,440,000 oz of gold in measured and indicated resources (990,000 oz measured, 8,450,000 oz indicated) on a 100% basis, inclusive of reserves, plus 4,220,000 oz inferred; Kiaka holds 6,280,000 oz of that and Sanbrado 3,170,000 oz. Kiaka's July 2024 updated feasibility study shows an NPV5% of US$1.18B and a 27% IRR at US$2,100/oz gold over a 20-year mine life, and WAF expects group production to average 533,000 oz a year over 10 years. Q2 2026 group production was a record 125,179 oz at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,730/oz. A Burkina Faso decree of 16 April 2026 authorises the state company SOPAMIB to buy a further 25% of Kiaka, which would reduce WAF's interest there to 60%; the purchase had not been completed at the time of the H1 2026 report.