Photo by: Bloombeg
KALGOORLIE (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Newmont Mining on Monday said it was working to extend the mine life of its Kalgoorlie operations, in Western Australia.
Speaking at the first day of the Diggers & Dealers conference, senior VP for the Asia Pacific region Tom Palmer noted that Newmont’s focus was on the management services agreement inked with joint venture partner Barrick Gold, which was cutting its presence in Australia.
The agreement allowed for operations to be streamlined and for the removal of duplication, to allow for greater efficiency in decision-making. Under the agreement, Newmont would provide greater direction and support to the operation of the mining operations, known as the Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM).
“In terms of the future of the KCGM, just this month, we are starting the development of the Hidden Secret deposit, which is an extension of the Mount Charlotte underground mine and which will extend the mine out to 2018. The Hidden Secret deposit will also provide us with a platform to do some more exploration to see what we can open up in the central corridor,” Palmer said on the sidelines of the conference.
The Hidden Secret deposit is estimated to host some 665 000 t of ore, grading 3.56 g/t gold for some 76 000 oz of contained gold.
Palmer said Newmont was also working to extend the mine life of the openpit operation, which was currently scheduled to close in 2019, saying that there were a number of options being considered to extend the mine life into the 2020s.
Furthermore, the processing of stockpiled ore at the openpit operation could add a further ten years to the processing life.
The KCGM operations produced some 329 000 oz/y and employed 1 000 employees and contractors.