Lawlers Gold Mine
Encyclopedia
The Lawlers Gold Mine is a gold mine
located 23 km south west of Leinster
, Western Australia
.
It is operated by Barrick Gold
and, since the beginning of 2008, part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consists of Lawlers, the Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine
and the Granny Smith Gold Mine
. The mine is located in the Norseman
-Wiluna
Greenstone Belt
.
, named after Patrick Lawler who found the first gold in a nearby creek, was established. Of the original town of Lawlers, only the old police station is still standing.
The site, was originally owned by Plutonic Resources, a major Australian gold mining and exploration company. Homestake Mining Company
purchased Plutonic in April 1998 for more than $1.0 billion, and, in turn, Homestake was acquiered by Barrick Gold at the end of 2001.
Ore at Lawlers is mined in an underground operation.
In June 2009, Lawlers has been certified as fully compliant with the International Cyanide Management Code
.
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
located 23 km south west of Leinster
Leinster, Western Australia
Leinster is a town in the northern goldfields area of Western Australia. The town is located 4 km east of the Goldfields Highway, in the Shire of Leonora Local Government Area, northeast of the state capital, Perth...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
It is operated by Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corporation is the largest pure gold mining company in the world, with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and four regional business units located in Australia, Africa, North America and South America...
and, since the beginning of 2008, part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consists of Lawlers, the Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine
Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine
The Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine is a gold mine located 58 km east of Leinster, Western Australia.It is operated by Barrick Gold and, since the beginning of 2008, part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consists of Darlot, the Lawlers Gold Mine and the Granny Smith Gold Mine...
and the Granny Smith Gold Mine
Granny Smith Gold Mine
The Granny Smith Gold Mine is a gold mine located 20 km south of Laverton, Western Australia near Mount Weld.It is operated by Barrick Gold and, since the beginning of 2008, part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consists of Granny Smith, the Lawlers Gold Mine and the Darlot-Centenary Gold...
. The mine is located in the Norseman
Norseman, Western Australia
Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, east of Perth and above sea level. It is also the starting point of the Eyre Highway, and the last major town in Western Australia before the South Australian border to the...
-Wiluna
Wiluna, Western Australia
Wiluna is a complex town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is situated on the edge of the Western Desert at the gateway to the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway. It is the service centre of the local area for the local Aboriginal people, the pastoral industry, mining, and...
Greenstone Belt
Greenstone belt
Greenstone belts are zones of variably metamorphosed mafic to ultramafic volcanic sequences with associated sedimentary rocks that occur within Archaean and Proterozoic cratons between granite and gneiss bodies....
.
History
Gold was first discovered in the region in 1892 and the town side of LawlersLawlers, Western Australia
Lawlers is a ghost town in Western Australia on the Old Agnew Road located north east of Perth in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia....
, named after Patrick Lawler who found the first gold in a nearby creek, was established. Of the original town of Lawlers, only the old police station is still standing.
The site, was originally owned by Plutonic Resources, a major Australian gold mining and exploration company. Homestake Mining Company
Homestake Mining Company
The Homestake Mining Company was one of the largest gold mining businesses in the United States from the 19th century through the beginning of the 21st...
purchased Plutonic in April 1998 for more than $1.0 billion, and, in turn, Homestake was acquiered by Barrick Gold at the end of 2001.
Ore at Lawlers is mined in an underground operation.
In June 2009, Lawlers has been certified as fully compliant with the International Cyanide Management Code
International Cyanide Management Code
The International Cyanide Management Code is voluntary code of industry practices for cyanide handing in metal mining and processing. Through a process started in 2000, it was jointly promulgated in 2002 by the United Nations Environment Program and the predecessor to the International Council on...
.
Lawlers
| Year | Gold production |
Grade | Cost per ounce (US$ United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... /oz Troy ounce The troy ounce is a unit of imperial measure. In the present day it is most commonly used to gauge the weight of precious metals. One troy ounce is nowadays defined as exactly 0.0311034768 kg = 31.1034768 g. There are approximately 32.1507466 troy oz in 1 kg... ) |
| 2000 | 101,200 ounces | 4.94 g/t | 215 |
| 2001 | 104,000 ounces | 4.45 g/t | 407 |
| 2002 | 113,291 ounces | 179 | |
| 2003 | 99,223 ounces | 249 | |
| 2004 | 110,374 ounces | 246 | |
| 2005 | 131,000 ounces | 0.154 oz/t | 324 |
| 2006 | 110,000 ounces | 0.129 oz/t | 494 |
| 2007 | 115,000 ounces | 0.138 oz/t | 515 |
Yilgarn South
Production figures for the Yilgarn South operation, consisting of Darlot, Granny Smith and Lawlers.| Year | Gold production |
Grade oz/ton |
Cost per ounce (US$ United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... /oz Troy ounce The troy ounce is a unit of imperial measure. In the present day it is most commonly used to gauge the weight of precious metals. One troy ounce is nowadays defined as exactly 0.0311034768 kg = 31.1034768 g. There are approximately 32.1507466 troy oz in 1 kg... ) |
| 2007 | 410,000 ounces | 0.117 | 486 |
| 2008 | 325,000 ounces | 0.125 | 749 |
| 2009 | 352,000 ounces | 685 |
Sources
- The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, Louthean Media Pty Ltd, Editor: Ross Louthean
- Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2008 Page 34: Principal Mineral and Petroleum Producers - Gold
External links
- Place Names Search Results - Lawlers Geoscience AustraliaGeoscience AustraliaGeoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian federal government. It carries out geoscientific research.On a user pays basis it produces geospatial products such as topographic maps and satellite imagery.-History:...
website - MINEDEX website