Coolgardie Gold Mine

Coolgardie
Location
Coolgardie Gold Mine
Location in Australia
Location Coolgardie
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 30°57′S 121°09′E / 30.950°S 121.150°E / -30.950; 121.150Coordinates: 30°57′S 121°09′E / 30.950°S 121.150°E / -30.950; 121.150
Production
Production 72,832
Financial year 2010-11
History
Active

1990–1999

2002–2005

2008–present

Owner
Company Focus Minerals Limited
Website Focus website
Year of acquisition 2005

The Coolgardie Gold Mine is a gold mine located at Coolgardie, Western Australia. The Coolgardie Gold Mine is not one single mine, but rather a generic term to describe a diverse group of mines - in essence, a mining locality.

It is currently owned by Focus Minerals Limited, which also owns the nearby Nepean Nickel Mine,[1] which closed in 1987.[2]

History

Gold mines in the Kalgoorlie region

Historically, more than 2.6 million ounces of gold have been produced from the Coolgardie gold belt since mining commenced in 1892.[3]

In the recent past, mining in Coolgardie was carried out by Goldfan, a wholly owned subsidiary of parent company Herald Resources Limited beginning in 1990 with the commissioning of the Three Mile Hill gold processing plant, which ceased production in 1999, but resumed mining in July 2002 after discovering high-grade ore at its Empress deposit.[4][5] In 2003, Herald sold 50% of its interest at Coolgardie to MPI/Pittston for A$3.475 million.[6]

In February 2005, Herald Resources sold their remaining mining leases to the Redemption Joint Venture, a partnership of Austminex and Matador. During 2005, Austminex changed its name to Focus Minerals while Matador merged with Committee Bay Resources. The sale was completed in August 2005,[7] and the mine closed.

The mine became fully owned by Focus Minerals in May 2008, when the former bought Canadian partner Committee Bay Resources out of the Redemption Joint Venture for A$36.6 million.[8]

In its current incarnation, under Focus Minerals, the mine once more resumed production in April 2008, now mining the high-grade Perseverance deposit, after achieving good drilling results.[9] Focus had caused an uproar in Coolgardie in July 2007, when the local shire took objection to a prospecting application from the company because it believed it took in the town site.[10]

After initially treating its ore at the Higginsville Mining-owned Greenfields plant, Focus is transitioning processing to its 100% owned Three Mile Hill facility located close by. In May 2009, Como Engineers began an extensive refurbishment program at Three Mile Hill, which was completed in December 2009. While the basic milling circuit remained the same, significant upgrades took place with the removal and replacement of the three crushers, the installation of a Gekko & Falcon gravity circuit and the installation of new elution, carbon regeneration and gold smelting areas.

Commissioning began in December 2009, with the first bar of gold poured on 13 January 2010. On 27 January Focus announced it would toll-treat ore from the White Foil Gold Mine, owned by La Mancha, in 2010.[11]

Focus placed a friendly takeover offer for Crescent Gold Limited, owner of the Laverton Gold Mine, in June 2011, which would place the company in the top-five of the Australian gold producers with an annual production of 230,000 ounces. The bid values Crescent at A$66 million.[12][13]

Production

Production of the mine:

Year Production Grade Cost per ounce
1997 [4] 97,910 ounces 2.36 g/t A$440
1998 [4] 55,073 ounces 1.42 g/t A$440
1999 [4] 8,213 ounces 0.9 g/t A$498
1999–2002 inactive
2002-03 [6] 23,030 ounces 1.97 g/t A$
2003-04 [14] 66,852 ounces 2.51 g/t A$500
2004-05 [15] 64,670 ounces 2.44 g/t A$478
2005–2008 inactive
2007-08 [16] 4,456 ounces 9 g/t A$467
2008-09 [17] 41,401 ounces 5.43 g/t A$603
2009-10 [18] 62,300 ounces 3.7 g/t A$792
2010-11 [19] 72,832 ounces g/t A$

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Focus Minerals website - About us accessed: 7 September 2009
  2. ↑ Wait worthwhile for Gold Aura The Australian, published: 7 April 2008, accessed: 7 September 2009
  3. ↑ Focus Minerals website accessed: 7 September 2009
  4. 1 2 3 4 The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page: 78
  5. ↑ Coolgardie gold mine back online ABC News, published: 26 July 2002, accessed: 7 September 2009
  6. 1 2 Herald annual report 2003 accessed: 7 September 2009
  7. ↑ Focus quarterly report September 2005 accessed: 7 September 2009
  8. ↑ Focus unveils $64m strategy to buyout Cooolgardie gold JV mineweb.com, published: 7 March 2008, accessed: 7 September 2009
  9. ↑ Beacon shines on Barlee drill The Australian, published: 31 March 2008, accessed: 7 September 2009
  10. ↑ Miner plays down Coolgardie drilling concerns ABC News, published: 27 July 2007, accessed: 7 September 2009
  11. ↑ La Mancha Toll Treatment Agreement Focus ASX website, published: 27 January 2010, accessed: 30 January 2010
  12. ↑ Focus and Crescent in merger deal The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 21 June 2011, accessed: 17 August 2011
  13. ↑ Focus Mineral makes friendly bid for Crescent Gold The Australian, published: 21 June 2011, accessed: 17 August 2011
  14. ↑ Herald annual report 2004 accessed: 7 September 2009
  15. ↑ Herald annual report 2005 accessed: 7 September 2009
  16. ↑ Focus quarterly report June 2008 accessed: 7 September 2009
  17. ↑ Focus quarterly report June 2009 accessed: 7 September 2009
  18. ↑ Quarterly Activities Report June 2010 Focus ASX announcement, published: 29 July 2010, accessed: 29 July 2010
  19. ↑ Quarterly Activities Report June 2011 Focus ASX announcement, published: 29 July 2011, accessed: 15 August 2011

External links

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