PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Thunderbox gold mine, in Western Australia, reached its commercial production milestone at the start of April this year, owner Saracen Mineral Holdings reported on Tuesday.
The project, which was expected to pour its first gold in June, was now operating at its nameplate capacity of 2.5-million tonnes a year, and produced some 7 026 oz of gold during April.
MD Raleigh Finlayson said that the Thunderbox mine had transformed Saracen into a leading midtier Australian gold producer.
“Thunderbox gives us the level of production and cash flow sought after by international investors, while enabling us to remain debt free. The potential ten-year mine-life of Thunderbox, and the exploration upside at both Thunderbox and Carosue Dam, means we have a sustainable production profile with strong growth prospects.”
Reaching commercial production at A$63.4-million, Thunderbox would enable Saracen to get closer to increasing its production rates to around 300 000 oz/y at an all-in sustaining cost of around A$1 075/oz.