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Doug Bright
Gateway Mining has reshuffled its leadership deck as it gears up for a full-court press on exploration and resource growth at its flagship Yandal gold project in Western Australia. The company restructured its board by promoting its current chief executive officer, Richard Pugh, to managing director and appointing existing non-executive director Anthony McClure as its new non-executive chairman.
The recent moves, which also see highly experienced corporate and legal executive Kristen Podagiel join the board as a non-executive director, are designed to hone the company’s focus on its next chapter of development.
Pugh’s promotion to the top job signals a doubling down on exploration-led growth. He has been the driving force behind Gateway’s exploration strategy over the past year, a period that has delivered multiple discoveries, including its Haflinger, Hummer, Rubicon prospects and the relatively recent high-grade find at Cowza.
Under Pugh’s leadership, the company has also defined significant mineralised systems at Celia South, Great Western and Ward, effectively rewriting the geological story across the company’s extensive Yandal tenure.
‘I look forward to embracing the Managing Director role with its expanded responsibilities.’
Gateway Mining incoming managing director Richard Pugh
Incoming non-executive chair Anthony McClure brings 35 years of technical, management and financial experience in the global resources sector. Having been closely involved with the Yandal project’s development since 2021, his move to the chairman’s role provides a steady experienced hand at the helm.
Kristen Podagiel’s appointment adds significant corporate and legal muscle to the board. With more than 20 years’ experience as a commercial lawyer on major projects in the resources, energy and technology sectors, her skill set looks to be an ideal fit for a company planning a significant scale-up.
Gateway Mining incoming managing director Richard Pugh said: “It’s been a fast-paced period since we put the ‘new’ Gateway together last year. The Company has gone forward in leaps and bounds, now having an exceptional balance sheet with over $50 million cash, plus multiple discoveries throughout the Yandal Gold Project, chief among them the outstanding discovery at Cowza.”
The Yandal project sits in some seriously well-endowed gold country, with the regional-scale Yandal greenstone belt hosting a treasure trove of multi-million-ounce gold deposits, including the nearby Jundee, Bronzewing and Darlot mines.
Running through Gateway’s patch is the gold-bearing Celia shear, a major geological structure linking a string of the company’s prospects and deposits. Among them are the Dusk ’til Dawn gold camp, boasting 108,900 ounces, the Horse Well gold camp with 291,500 ounces and the Palomino deposit, which adds another 129,500 ounces to the company’s growing golden inventory.
In total, the company’s global gold inventory stands at 400,400 ounces at 1.52 grams per tonne (g/t). Armed with a formidable cash war chest, bolstered by a $45 million placement in September, the company has plenty of financial firepower to fuel an aggressive exploration assault on its Cowza, Haflinger, Hummer and Rubicon discoveries. Further drilling success could add serious ounces to its golden tally, potentially setting the stage for a resource upgrade next year.
Gateway’s board restructure appears well-timed, coming as Western Australia’s turbo-charged gold sector continues to fire on all cylinders. Gold exploration spending in WA has been running at record levels, hitting $1.57 billion in the 2025-26 period, according to data released in August by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, underpinned by a resolute gold price and ongoing global geopolitical uncertainty.
The board changes will take effect after the company’s annual general meeting on November 16. Andrew Bray will transition from executive chair to a non-executive director role, ensuring continuity and remaining a key voice as one of Gateway’s major supporters.
With a freshly configured board stacked with exploration, corporate and legal expertise, the coffers full and a string of recent discoveries to build on, Gateway looks to be squaring up for a potentially company-defining development phase. As drill bits turn to test the depths of the Yandal Greenstone Belt, the company looks well-planted to convert its recent and future exploration momentum into tangible resource growth.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au