Tarmoola Gold Mine
Encyclopedia
The Tarmoola Gold Mine is a gold mine
located 29 km north-west of Leonora
, Western Australia
. The mine has been placed in care and maintenance since September 2004, when a pit wall failure forced its closure.
It is owned by St Barbara Limited. Apart from Tarmoola, St Barbara also operates the Marvel Loch Gold Mine
and the Gwalia Gold Mine
.
All three mines were previously owned by the now defunct mining company Sons of Gwalia Limited. Sons of Gwalia went into administration on 30 August 2004 and the company's gold mining operations were sold to St Barbara in March 2005 for A$
38 Million, having been valued by the Sons of Gwalia directors at A$120 Million. While Marvel Loch was operational before and after the sale, the Gwalia mine was already placed in care and maintenance at the time of the transaction. A fourth mine, the Carosue Dam Gold Mine
, ceased operation in June 2005 and has since been sold by St Barbara.
Camelot Resources was renamed Pacmin Mining in June 1998 and took control of all assets of the two companies in Australia. Pacmin was then taken over by Sons of Gwalia in October 2001 for A$210 million, the mine thereby becoming part of the company's Leonora operations, together with the Gwalia mine. This merger also secured the Carosue Dam mine for Sons of Gwalia.
In February 2004, a pit wall failure caused disruptions to the mine, leading to its eventual closure in September 2004.
In retrospect, the purchase of Pacmin and Tarmoola was seen as very expensive, especially in the light of gold reserve write downs and operational difficulties at the mine.
Sons of Gwalia went into administration on 30 August 2004, following a financial collapse, with debts exceeding $800 million after suffering from falling gold reserves and hedging losses. Sons of Gwalia was Australia's third-largest gold producer and also controlled more than half the world's production of tantalum.
St Barbara purchased the mine from insolvent Sons of Gwalia in March 2005 but has not reopened the mine since. The company placed the mine on the market in 2007, seeing little value in operating the mine because of high costs of production. St Barbara estimated that it would cost A$700 per ounce to mine at Tarmoola, at an average grade of 1.1 g/t. However, the sale of Tarmoola did not eventuate.
St Barbara has been reviewing the option of underground mining at Tarmoola in 2009 and processing the ore at Gwalia.
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 29 km north-west of Leonora
Leonora, Western Australia
Leonora is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, located northeast of the state capital, Perth, and north of the city of Kalgoorlie. At the 2006 census, Leonora had a population of 401, about a third of whom are of Aboriginal descent. The area is extremely arid, with a...
, 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...
. The mine has been placed in care and maintenance since September 2004, when a pit wall failure forced its closure.
It is owned by St Barbara Limited. Apart from Tarmoola, St Barbara also operates the Marvel Loch Gold Mine
Marvel Loch Gold Mine
The Marvel Loch Gold Mine is a gold mine located at Marvel Loch, 30 km south of Southern Cross, Western Australia.It is operated by St Barbara Limited...
and the Gwalia Gold Mine
Gwalia Gold Mine
The Gwalia Gold Mine is located at Gwalia, a few kilometres south of Leonora, Western Australia. It was originally established by Welsh miners in the late 19th century and Herbert Hoover, the later President of the United States, served as the mine manager in its early days from May to November...
.
All three mines were previously owned by the now defunct mining company Sons of Gwalia Limited. Sons of Gwalia went into administration on 30 August 2004 and the company's gold mining operations were sold to St Barbara in March 2005 for A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
38 Million, having been valued by the Sons of Gwalia directors at A$120 Million. While Marvel Loch was operational before and after the sale, the Gwalia mine was already placed in care and maintenance at the time of the transaction. A fourth mine, the Carosue Dam Gold Mine
Carosue Dam Gold Mine
The Carosue Dam Gold Mine is a gold mine located south of Laverton, Western Australia.It is currently owned by Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited.Carosue Dam was previously owned by the now defunct mining company Sons of Gwalia Limited...
, ceased operation in June 2005 and has since been sold by St Barbara.
History
The mine, opened in May 1990, was discovered and developed by Mount Edon Mines until April 1997, when it was taken over by jointly by Camelot Resources and the Teck Corporation through Reachwest Pty Ltd for A$158 million.Camelot Resources was renamed Pacmin Mining in June 1998 and took control of all assets of the two companies in Australia. Pacmin was then taken over by Sons of Gwalia in October 2001 for A$210 million, the mine thereby becoming part of the company's Leonora operations, together with the Gwalia mine. This merger also secured the Carosue Dam mine for Sons of Gwalia.
In February 2004, a pit wall failure caused disruptions to the mine, leading to its eventual closure in September 2004.
In retrospect, the purchase of Pacmin and Tarmoola was seen as very expensive, especially in the light of gold reserve write downs and operational difficulties at the mine.
Sons of Gwalia went into administration on 30 August 2004, following a financial collapse, with debts exceeding $800 million after suffering from falling gold reserves and hedging losses. Sons of Gwalia was Australia's third-largest gold producer and also controlled more than half the world's production of tantalum.
St Barbara purchased the mine from insolvent Sons of Gwalia in March 2005 but has not reopened the mine since. The company placed the mine on the market in 2007, seeing little value in operating the mine because of high costs of production. St Barbara estimated that it would cost A$700 per ounce to mine at Tarmoola, at an average grade of 1.1 g/t. However, the sale of Tarmoola did not eventuate.
St Barbara has been reviewing the option of underground mining at Tarmoola in 2009 and processing the ore at Gwalia.
Production
Production of the mine:| Year | Production | Grade | Cost per ounce |
| 1995-96 | 58,369 ounces | ||
| 2000 | 230,357 ounces | 2.27 g/t | A$287 |
| 2001 | 194,540 ounces | 1.80 g/t | A$379 |
| 2002 1 | 150,484 ounces | 1.41 g/t | A$375 |
| 2002-03 2 | 237,036 ounces | A$470 | |
| 2003-04 2 | 165,802 ounces | A$476 | |
| 2004-05 | |||
| 2005–present | inactive | ||
- 1 2002 results for January to November only.
- 2 Combined result for the Leonora operations, consiting of Gwalia and Tarmoola. The Gwalia mine closed in December 2003.
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
- St Barbara website - Leonora operations
- MINEDEX website
- How sons of Lalor built, then sank, Sons of Gwalia The Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning HeraldThe Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
- Article on the collapse of Sons of Gwalia