The West Wits Mining Limited (ASX: WWI) share price has finished the day in the green on Friday, finishing trading at 5.5 cents.
That's a 25% gain on the day, and well ahead of the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)'s 0.8% loss today.
Here we investigate what pushed West Wit's share price higher.
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What's driving the West Wits Mining share price today?
The West Wits Mining share price is running hot today after the company announced a key update to its Witwatersrand Basin Project (WBP).
The WBP deposit forms part of the "Central Rand Goldfield" in Johannesburg, South Africa. It has been "host to one of the most extensive gold deposits in the world", according to the release.
Today, West Wits advised that the Department of Mineral Resources & Energy (DMRE) formally accepted the company's "application for a new prospecting right at WBP".
After ensuring all compliance measures check out, the company "would reinstate a substantial portion of Mineral Resources to WBP's current mineral resource estimate (MRE) of 3.55Moz at 4.26 g/t Au".
Following that, West Wits will submit an environmental management plan for the site, in addition to a "prospecting works plan" to the DMRE. These submissions are standard procedure, as per the release.
West Wits also anticipates that a significant portion of the "old resource", that was restated upon the mining right's grant, "would be reintroduced to the global MRE for the WBP".
Speaking on the announcement, West Wits' managing director, Jac van Heerden, said:
We are confident that we will be able to comply with the prospecting right compliance requirements, upon which we will reinstate substantial resources to our Qala Shallows and Deeps areas of the WBP which were reduced on the grant of our mining right in July.
West Wits Mining share price snapshot
The West Wits Mining share price has had a difficult year to date, posting a loss of 31% since January 1.
Despite this, Wes Wits Mining shares have climbed 72% over the last 12 months.
This outpaces the broad index's return of 26% over the past year.
