Name of the Mine
Dalgaranga mine.
Location
The mine is located 475 km north-east of Perth and about 65 km north-west of Mt Magnet, in Western Australia.
Mine Owner/s
Gascoyne Resources.
Brief Description
The Dalgaranga mine is Gascoyne Resources’ flagship mine and is a modern fly-in, fly-out operation, with a fully self-contained accommodation camp and a fully licensed airstrip adjacent to the camp.
Carbon-in-leach and gravity gold doré bars are produced on site and transported to the gold refinery.
Brief History
Commissioning of the mine and first gold pour were completed in May 2018.
Primary Metals/Minerals
Gold.
Secondary Metals/Minerals
None stated.
Geology/Mineralisation
The Dalgaranga mine is located within the Dalgaranga greenstone belt, in the Murchison province of Western Australia.
The north-east-trending belt comprises high magnesium basalt, tholeiitic basalt, intermediate volcanic, felsic intrusive porphyry, and a volcano-sedimentary sequence dominated by black shale and volcaniclastic lithologies.
Felsic volcanic rocks outcrop on the western side of the belt, north of the Gilbey’s and Golden Wings deposits.
The greenstone sequence is intruded by large gabbro complexes in the north (Mt Farmer, Mt Charle) and to the west (Dalgaranga Hill). The stratigraphy has been folded into two regional synforms that plunge in opposite directions, separated by a regional fault/shear along the western side of the Mt Farmer gabbro sill, westwards to the south side of the gabbroic Dalgaranga Hill.
The Dalgaranga greenstone belt is intruded by several post-tectonic granites separated by zones of amphibolite and mafic schists intruded by pegmatites. East-west-trending Proterozoic dykes of dolerite and gabbro intrude the greenstone sequences.
Geophysical interpretation of the region shows large-scale north-east structures and a general fabric also oriented north-east. The fabric and structures cross-cut folded stratigraphy and are synonymous with regional mineralised corridors.
Reserves
Total proven and probable reserves as at March 31, 2021, were estimated at 13.53-million tonnes grading 0.8 g/t gold.
Resources
Total measured, indicated and inferred resources as at March 31, 2021, were estimated at 24.99-million tonnes grading 0.8 g/t gold.
Mining Method
Openpit, with mining undertaken by a contractor.
Major Infrastructure/Equipment
Dalgaranga includes a carbon-in-leach processing plant that operates with a single-stage jaw crusher, supplying crushed ore to the semiautogenous grinding (SAG) mill. SAG mill discharge pulp is fed to leach and adsorption tanks. Recirculating load passes over a gravity scalping screen, through a Knelson concentrator to an Acacia intensive leach reactor.
Prospects
Excellent potential exists to extend the Dalgaranga’s mine life through exploration success on the 500 km2 surrounding tenements.
Contact Details
Gascoyne Resources
Tel +61 8 9481 3434
Email admin@gascoyneresources.com.au
Website https://gascoyneresources.com.au/
Sources
Gascoyne Resources. Dalgaranga gold mine – robust updated mineral resource (August 18, 2019).
Gascoyne Resources. Website https://gascoyneresources.com.au/ (accessed February 22, 2022).
Gascoyne Resources. Annual Report to Shareholders (September 24, 2021).
Gascoyne Resources. Gascoyne investor presentation – Noosa (November 11, 2021).