BrightStar Gold Mine
Encyclopedia
The BrightStar Gold Mine is a gold mine
located 35 km south-east of Laverton, Western Australia
.
It is operated by A1 Minerals Limited, having commenced production in December 2009.
The mine is located on the native title
of the Wongatha aboriginal people, who are a shareholder of A1 Minerals. In exchange for the consent of the Wongatha people to any current or future mining tenements, A1 agreed to protect all aboriginal sites, offer training and employment and issue shares in the value of A$
220,000 to the Wongatha. A similar agreement between the Wongatha and the owners of the Laverton Gold Mine
later took place in 2005.
in December 2003. The BrightStar gold project was already pursued by the company at the time of listing on the ASX.
A1 Minerals expanded BrightStar by acquiring the Mikado Gold Mine in July 2005 from Deep Yellow Ltd which had briefly mined the deposit in 2004. Historically, the deposit had also been mined from 1900 to 1911, when 9,916 ounces of gold had been recovered.
In July 2008, A1 announced it had purchased a second-hand gold processing plant, which it would relocate from Kalgoorlie
to its BrightStar project.
In May 2009, A1 signed a contract for the refurbishment of its existing plant, worth $1.7 million, with CPC Engineering. In July 2009, the company received the necessary approvals from the Western Australian authorities for its project.
The BrightStar deposit includes a number of proposed and existing open pits
, some of them having been mined in the past. A1 plans to mine the Alpha and Beta pits, producing 30,000 ounces of gold per annum. The other pits, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta and Theta are future mining prospects.
The mine commenced gold production in May 2010 and recorded 2,700 ounces of gold produced for the second quarter of 2010.
The mine continuously underperformed after start up, staying below the targeted production of 2,500 ounces of gold per month, with a low point of just 702 ounces produced in April 2011. A1 Minerals was forced to go into a lengthy trading halt in July 2011 in an attempt to secure more funding.
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 35 km south-east of Laverton, 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 A1 Minerals Limited, having commenced production in December 2009.
The mine is located on the native title
Native title
Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
of the Wongatha aboriginal people, who are a shareholder of A1 Minerals. In exchange for the consent of the Wongatha people to any current or future mining tenements, A1 agreed to protect all aboriginal sites, offer training and employment and issue shares in the value of 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...
220,000 to the Wongatha. A similar agreement between the Wongatha and the owners of the Laverton Gold Mine
Laverton Gold Mine
The Laverton Gold Mine is a gold mine 9 km east of Laverton, Western Australia. It is currently owned by Crescent Gold Limited and has recommenced mining in August 2009, after having been shut for just over one year...
later took place in 2005.
History
A1 Minerals was formed in May 2002 and listed on the Australian Securities ExchangeAustralian Securities Exchange
The Australian Securities Exchange was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange in July 2006. It is the primary stock exchange group in Australia....
in December 2003. The BrightStar gold project was already pursued by the company at the time of listing on the ASX.
A1 Minerals expanded BrightStar by acquiring the Mikado Gold Mine in July 2005 from Deep Yellow Ltd which had briefly mined the deposit in 2004. Historically, the deposit had also been mined from 1900 to 1911, when 9,916 ounces of gold had been recovered.
In July 2008, A1 announced it had purchased a second-hand gold processing plant, which it would relocate from Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
to its BrightStar project.
In May 2009, A1 signed a contract for the refurbishment of its existing plant, worth $1.7 million, with CPC Engineering. In July 2009, the company received the necessary approvals from the Western Australian authorities for its project.
The BrightStar deposit includes a number of proposed and existing open pits
Open-pit mining
Open-pit mining or opencast mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....
, some of them having been mined in the past. A1 plans to mine the Alpha and Beta pits, producing 30,000 ounces of gold per annum. The other pits, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta and Theta are future mining prospects.
The mine commenced gold production in May 2010 and recorded 2,700 ounces of gold produced for the second quarter of 2010.
The mine continuously underperformed after start up, staying below the targeted production of 2,500 ounces of gold per month, with a low point of just 702 ounces produced in April 2011. A1 Minerals was forced to go into a lengthy trading halt in July 2011 in an attempt to secure more funding.
Production
Production figures for the mine:| Year | Gold production |
Grade | Cost per ounce |
| 2008-09 | inactive | ||
| 2009-10 | 2,700 ounces | ||
| 2010-11 | 14,287 ounces | ||
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
- MINEDEX website
- A1 Minerals Limited (AAM.AX) at ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
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