Brightstar Resources says construction of its planned 1.5-million-tonne-per-year Laverton processing plant in Western Australia was on schedule and within its approved budget as of 13 October 2026. The company’s current target is first gold in June 2027. Site work had progressed from major concrete pours into early structural-steel erection and tank installation, with separate work continuing on power, gold recovery, reagents and water supply.
When is first gold targeted at Laverton?
Brightstar’s 13 October 2026 construction update targets first gold in June 2027. The company reported construction on schedule and within approved budget; those are management’s project-status claims, not an independent schedule or cost assessment. First gold is a commissioning milestone, distinct from the date mining mobilisation begins.
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Brightstar Managing Director Alex Rovira said on 13 October that September construction and development activity was tracking to schedule for construction completion and first gold in June 2027. The statement reflects the company’s view of progress at that date.
What is being built?
The selected facility is a 1.5 Mtpa processing plant on Laverton’s existing processing-plant site. Brightstar’s January 2026 updated Goldfields feasibility study increased the planned capacity from the 1.0 Mtpa basis in its June 2025 study. The company cited existing site infrastructure as a means of capturing capital and timetable savings; these are study conclusions, not independently verified construction outcomes.
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The available project disclosures establish the plant’s capacity and construction areas, but do not provide a complete, verified flowsheet, named equipment models, detailed process design criteria, vendor specifications or commissioning acceptance criteria. It would therefore be misleading to infer specific process equipment or operating parameters from the capacity figure alone.
What work had been completed or started by October 2026?
Brightstar’s 13 October update described progress during September across process-plant construction and supporting infrastructure:
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- Primary crusher: the final major concrete pour was complete.
- Surge bin: concrete was complete and structural-steel erection had begun.
- CIL tanks: tank platework and strake welding were underway.
- LNG power station: civil works had commenced.
- Gold recovery and elution: civil work continued.
- Reagents: civil work began.
- Borefield: drilling and header-pipe welding advanced.
The update also set out planned October activity. These were forward works, not confirmation of later completion:
- Continue concrete works in the recovery, elution and reagents areas.
- Start non-process-infrastructure civil work.
- Begin structural-steel erection in grinding, classification and primary-crusher areas.
- Continue CIL tank installation.
- Begin borefield pump testing.
How do approvals, the contract and funding fit the schedule?
Brightstar announced its board’s final investment decision in May 2026, after the company said it had received key regulatory approvals. These included approval of the Mining Development and Closure Proposal from the then-named Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration, and a Part V Works Approval from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation.
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The company had executed an engineering, procurement and construction contract with GR Engineering Services Limited. Brightstar’s 26 May 2026 announcement gave the contract sum as $110 million. In that same announcement, Brightstar said an A$193 million equity raising and US$120 million bond financing funded the project through first gold. Those are dated company funding statements, not a current cash-balance disclosure.
Where is the plant’s ore feed expected to come from?
The October update described Lord Byron site establishment and mining development work as underway, with mining mobilisation targeted for early in the March quarter of 2027. That is a mining mobilisation target, not the plant’s first-gold date. In May 2026, Brightstar had described open-pit mining at Lord Byron as planned for later in calendar 2026 to build ore stockpiles ahead of mill commissioning; the October update is the later schedule statement and should take precedence when describing the company’s then-current plan.
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Fish underground is another planned source of feed. Brightstar’s Fish mine page says it moved to care and maintenance in the March quarter of 2026 in line with the updated mine plan, with ore production expected to recommence in early calendar 2027. The company expects Fish to provide high-grade underground feed after plant commissioning, using existing underground equipment, infrastructure and personnel. That timing and role remain company plans.
The January 2026 feasibility study also identified Cork Tree Well and Alpha in Laverton, plus Yunndaga, Lady Shenton and Aspacia in Menzies, as planned production centres. That study targeted Laverton mine production from the second half of 2026 and Menzies production in 2027. These dates predate the October construction update; the materials cited here do not establish updated mine-by-mine start dates for those other centres.
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What the schedule and capacity figures do—and do not—show
The most current construction milestone in the company’s October update is the June 2027 first-gold target. The plant capacity comes from the January 2026 feasibility study, while cost, funding and production forecasts are tied to the May 2026 investment-decision announcement. They describe different aspects of the project and should not be treated as a single independently assured operating case.
In its 26 May 2026 announcement, Brightstar forecast approximately 75,000 ounces of gold per year over an initial six-year mine life, alongside financial metrics using an A$6,000-per-ounce gold-price assumption. This is a dated company forecast, not guaranteed production or a construction-performance measure.
The disclosures cited here do not provide independent schedule assurance, detailed design specifications or commissioning criteria. Brightstar’s statements about being on schedule and within budget, like its first-gold and production forecasts, should be read as company-reported status and targets as of their stated dates.
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Sources
- Brightstar Resources, “Goldfields Project Construction Update,” 13 October 2026 (company announcement archive).
- Brightstar Resources, “Brightstar declares Final Investment Decision for Goldfields Project; construction of 1.5Mtpa Laverton plant commences,” 26 May 2026.
- Brightstar Resources, “Updated Goldfields Feasibility Study,” 29 January 2026.
- Brightstar Resources, “Fish Underground Mine,” accessed 13 October 2026.
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