Brightstar’s Sandstone gold project: underground design and scheduling lens
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on Australian Mining
30 Second Briefing
Brightstar Resources has intersected multiple zones of visible gold in deep diamond drilling at the Two Mile Hill deposit, strengthening the case for underground development at its Sandstone gold project in Western Australia. The adjacent Two Mile Hill–Shillington system hosts a combined JORC mineral resource of 753,000 ounces at 1.5 grams per tonne gold, with the new intersections extending mineralisation at depth. Results point to potential for higher-grade underground stopes beneath the current open-pit shells, which could materially change mine design and scheduling.
Technical Brief
- Deep diamond drilling targeted the Two Mile Hill intrusive-hosted system rather than near-surface oxide.
- Two Mile Hill–Shillington is treated as a single structural–mineral system for resource and mine planning.
- Visible gold occurrences at depth suggest coarse free-milling components within an otherwise disseminated gold system.
- Underground potential at Sandstone is being evaluated as a follow-on phase to existing open-pit concepts.
- Deep drilling results will feed into updated JORC resource modelling and underground stope optimisation.
- Higher-grade shoots at depth would support smaller-footprint underground infrastructure versus expanding surface disturbance.
Our Take
Brightstar Resources’ recent final investment decision on its 1.5 Mtpa Goldfields processing plant in Western Australia suggests that any additional ounces at the Sandstone gold project and the Two Mile Hill–Shillington deposits can be leveraged relatively quickly into a regional hub rather than needing standalone infrastructure.
The 1.5 g/t gold grade reported for the combined Sandstone mineral resource sits in the middle of grades seen across our Western Australia gold project coverage, implying that project value will hinge on scale and metallurgy, with the nearby toll-treatment experience and owner-operated shift flagged in April 2026 articles likely informing Brightstar’s processing strategy.
Our database shows several 2026 items on Brightstar’s transition from toll treatment and ore purchase agreements (including with Genesis Minerals) to owner-operated production, so incremental discoveries at Sandstone could strengthen the company’s negotiating position on any future third-party processing or blending arrangements in the Eastern Goldfields.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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