Regis Resources Ltd. has released a maiden reserve for the Tooheys Well deposit, extending the life of the Duketon gold mine in Western Australia by about four years.

The initial reserve for the deposit amounts to 7.1 million tonnes at 1.61 g/t for 366,000 contained gold ounces.

Executive Chairman Mark Clark said June 6 that the new reserve extends the mine life of the Duketon project and should increase output by more than 30,000 ounces each year due to its significantly higher grade than the displaced ore from the Garden Well deposit.

Mining of the Tooheys Well deposit is slated to begin in the March quarter of 2018, with production expected to be about 90,000 ounces per annum.

Meanwhile, the resource at Tooheys Well has climbed 15% to 17.0 million tonnes at 1.16 g/t for 630,000 contained gold ounces.