Sydney, February 27, 2026, 17:42 AEDT — After-hours
- West African Resources ended the week lower as trading wrapped in Sydney.
- A new substantial holder notice showed State Street lifting its disclosed voting power in WAF.
- Investors are watching for the next update on Burkina Faso’s interest in a larger Kiaka stake and the company’s next report.
West African Resources Ltd (WAF.AX) shares closed down 1.13% at A$3.49 on Friday, retreating from Thursday’s A$3.53 close, according to MarketScreener data. The stock is still up about 20% so far this year. 1
The move followed a substantial holder notice lodged late Wednesday showing State Street Corporation and its subsidiaries lifting their voting power in the gold miner to 8.55% from 6.17%, the filing showed. State Street’s disclosed holding rose to 97,694,034 votes from 70,467,209. 2
The share register shift lands while investors keep one eye on Burkina Faso and the Kiaka project. West African said earlier this week that government minutes referenced a draft decree that would authorise the state to acquire an additional 25% paid equity stake in Kiaka SA, and that it was in continuing discussions with the government on terms “that respect” shareholders and lenders. 3
“Operations at Sanbrado and Kiaka have continued unaffected,” executive chairman and CEO Richard Hyde said in that statement.
Australia’s “substantial holder” rules require investors to disclose when voting power rises above 5% and when it moves by 1 percentage point or more. Traders often scan those notices for clues on institutional demand and the direction of large positions.
In State Street’s case, the notice set out a mix of investment-management interests and securities-lending related positions, including collateral arrangements. That can make the headline percentage move look cleaner than the plumbing underneath it.
WAF has been a regular on the ASX announcements tape in February, with repeated substantial holder filings and related notices hitting the market alongside the Kiaka update. 4
West African operates the Sanbrado mine and Toega satellite pit in Burkina Faso and is developing the Kiaka project, which sits at the centre of the ownership talks flagged by the company this week.
But register moves can be noisy. Securities lending and collateral transfers can expand or shrink a holder’s reported “relevant interest” without signalling a straight, on-market buy — and the Kiaka negotiations add a second layer of uncertainty around how any change in state participation might affect funding terms and shareholder economics.
With the ASX closed until Monday, attention turns to the next scheduled disclosures. MarketIndex’s calendar flags an annual report on March 5, followed by a quarterly report pencilled in for April 16. 5
Any formal update on Kiaka’s equity structure — or a fresh release alongside the March 5 report — is likely to set the next direction for West African Resources’ share price.
