Gidgee Gold Mine
Encyclopedia
The Gidgee Gold Mine is a gold mine in Western Australia
, 82 km north of the town of Sandstone
. The mine was, until recently, owned by APEX Minerals NL, but purchased by Panoramic Resources in February 2011. The mine is currently in care and maintenance.
The mine was scheduled to reopen in late 2008 but delays experienced forced APEX to postpone this date to mid-2010. Gidgee is part of a three mine production strategy, together with the Wiluna Gold Mine
and the Youanmi Gold Mine
.
The mine is located in the Gum Creek Greenstone Belt
. Its name is derived from the nearby Gidgee Station
.
Under Abelle, mining was mainly carried out in the South Woodya, Donkey Well and Wahoo open pit and the Swan Bitter underground operation. At the end of 2002, Abelle ceased mining in open pit operations at Gidgee, the only ore now coming from the Swan Bitter underground operation. As a consequence of reduced ore production, milling was reduced to a two weeks on, one week off roster.
In February 2003, Harmony Gold
launched a take over offer for Abelle Limited. By the end of April 2003, Harmony had acquired an 85% interest in Abelle and declared the offer closed. The purchase of a controlling interest in Abelle cost Harmony A$155 million and was primarily carried out to acquire Abelle's gold mining projects in Papua New Guinea
. The driving forces behind Abelle Limited, Sydney
businessmen Peter Cook and Peter Newton, earlier had also sold another gold mining company to Harmony, Hill 50 Gold, for A$233 million in 2002. Abelle was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange
on 2 July 2004, following a compulsory acquisition by Harmony.
Gidgee briefly became part of Harmony's Australian operations, consisting of Gidgee, the South Kalgoorlie Gold Mine
, the Big Bell Gold Mine
(closed June 2003) and the Hill 50 Gold Mine
.
In November 2003, Legend Mining, previously only engaged in Silver
mining, announced that it had purchased Gidgee for A$6.5 million. At the time, Gidgee had produced over 1 million ounces of gold during its lifetime. Legend took over the mine on 17 December 2003.
Under Legend, production at Gidgee was reduced, the company carrying out extensive exploration efforts but reducing the milling to a two week on, two week off roster. Legend placed the mine in care and maintenance in March 2005, stating that operating costs in the Western Australian mining industry had risen by 35-45% over the last 15 month while the gold price had remained relatively fixed, making the operation less viable.
In May 2007, legend announced the sale of the mine to APEX Minerals for A$11 million, payable in APEX shares. Additionally, Legend would receive A$5 million once Gidgee had produced in excess of 250,000 ounces of gold and retain certain tenements for Nickel
exploration.
APEX's initial plan was, to refurbish and enlarge the Gidgee processing plant and use it as a central processing facility for ore from its Youanmi Gold Mine
and Gidgee, where it would mine the Wilson deposit. Production was to commence in 18 to 24 month. With the acquisition of the Wiluna Gold Mine
in June 2007, Wiluna replaced Gidgee as the location of the central processing facility. Gidgee, like Youanmi, were to serve as mining locations only, with ore from Gidgee to be transported to Wiluna, 130 km north-east of Gidgee.
APEX announced in June 2008, that it would start developing an underground decline from its Wilson 3 pit at Gidgee in October 2008, followed by first ore production in early 2009. The company revised this plan, however and decided to only proceed with the development of the Wiluna mine. It halted all exploration activities at Gidgee and Younami, too. Difficulties encountered in the underground mining and plant commissioning at Wiluna forced APEX to go through a number of capital raisings, the latest in September 2009, when the company raised A$108 million. Consequently, APEX share price fell from a height of A$1.40 in early 2008 to below 4 cent by the end of 2009.
Subsequently, APEX returned to its previously abandoned strategy of sourcing ore from Gidgee as well as Wiluna for its processing facility. It now plans to commence mining at Gidgee once more in March 2010. In late December 2009, APEX announced a further delay with the development of the Gidgee mine because of the need of an upgrade of the Gidgee - Wiluna
road. APEX anticipated that mining could be delayed another two or three month, but, as of the end of July 2010, no further mention of the Gidgee mine being reopened has been made.
In early 2011, the sale of the mine to Panoramic Resources was announced. APEX however retained the rights to the Wilson deposit. Panoramic purchased the mine for A$15.5 million and announced plans to refurbish the production facilities.
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...
, 82 km north of the town of Sandstone
Sandstone, Western Australia
Sandstone is a small town located in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The town is located 157 kilometres east of Mount Magnet and 661 kilometres north of the state capital, Perth...
. The mine was, until recently, owned by APEX Minerals NL, but purchased by Panoramic Resources in February 2011. The mine is currently in care and maintenance.
The mine was scheduled to reopen in late 2008 but delays experienced forced APEX to postpone this date to mid-2010. Gidgee is part of a three mine production strategy, together with the Wiluna Gold Mine
Wiluna Gold Mine
The Wiluna Gold Mine is an active gold mine in Western Australia near the town of Wiluna. The mine was active from 1984 till its closure in 2007; when it was put into care and maintenance; and again since late 2008....
and the Youanmi Gold Mine
Youanmi Gold Mine
The Youanmi Gold Mine is a gold mine 82 km south-south-west of the town of Sandstone. It is near the abandoned town of Youanmi, in the Murchison Region of Western Australia....
.
The mine is located in the Gum Creek 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....
. Its name is derived from the nearby Gidgee Station
Station (Australian agriculture)
Station is the term for a large Australian landholding used for livestock production. It corresponds to the North American term ranch or South American estancia...
.
History
While in operation under Australian Resources Limited, liquidated in October 1999, the company had to close the mine because of financial difficulties. Abelle Limited took over Gidgee in October 1999 and resumed production in February 2000.Under Abelle, mining was mainly carried out in the South Woodya, Donkey Well and Wahoo open pit and the Swan Bitter underground operation. At the end of 2002, Abelle ceased mining in open pit operations at Gidgee, the only ore now coming from the Swan Bitter underground operation. As a consequence of reduced ore production, milling was reduced to a two weeks on, one week off roster.
In February 2003, Harmony Gold
Harmony Gold (mining)
Harmony Gold is the third largest gold mining company in South Africa , the 12th largest in the world and the 5th largest gold producer in the world. Harmony and its subsidiaries conduct underground and surface gold mining and related activities, including exploration, processing, smelting and...
launched a take over offer for Abelle Limited. By the end of April 2003, Harmony had acquired an 85% interest in Abelle and declared the offer closed. The purchase of a controlling interest in Abelle cost Harmony A$155 million and was primarily carried out to acquire Abelle's gold mining projects in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. The driving forces behind Abelle Limited, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
businessmen Peter Cook and Peter Newton, earlier had also sold another gold mining company to Harmony, Hill 50 Gold, for A$233 million in 2002. Abelle was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange
Australian 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....
on 2 July 2004, following a compulsory acquisition by Harmony.
Gidgee briefly became part of Harmony's Australian operations, consisting of Gidgee, the South Kalgoorlie Gold Mine
South Kalgoorlie Gold Mine
The South Kalgoorlie Gold Mine is a gold mine located south-west of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The mine is sometimes also referred to as South Kal Mines - New Celebration, being a merger of the former New Celebration Gold Mine and the Jubilee Gold Mine, which were combined in 2002.It was...
, the Big Bell Gold Mine
Big Bell Gold Mine
The Big Bell Gold Mine is a gold mine located at Big Bell, 24 km north-west of Cue, Western Australia. The mine was owned and operated by Harmony Gold at the time of its closure in June 2003, having produced 2.6 million ounces of gold during its lifetime, but was sold to Aragon Resources...
(closed June 2003) and the Hill 50 Gold Mine
Hill 50 Gold Mine
The Hill 50 Gold Mine is a gold mine located 4 km north-west of Mount Magnet, Western Australia. The mine was, until July 2010, owned by Harmony Gold and had been placed in care and maintenance since 2007...
.
In November 2003, Legend Mining, previously only engaged in Silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mining, announced that it had purchased Gidgee for A$6.5 million. At the time, Gidgee had produced over 1 million ounces of gold during its lifetime. Legend took over the mine on 17 December 2003.
Under Legend, production at Gidgee was reduced, the company carrying out extensive exploration efforts but reducing the milling to a two week on, two week off roster. Legend placed the mine in care and maintenance in March 2005, stating that operating costs in the Western Australian mining industry had risen by 35-45% over the last 15 month while the gold price had remained relatively fixed, making the operation less viable.
In May 2007, legend announced the sale of the mine to APEX Minerals for A$11 million, payable in APEX shares. Additionally, Legend would receive A$5 million once Gidgee had produced in excess of 250,000 ounces of gold and retain certain tenements for Nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
exploration.
APEX's initial plan was, to refurbish and enlarge the Gidgee processing plant and use it as a central processing facility for ore from its Youanmi Gold Mine
Youanmi Gold Mine
The Youanmi Gold Mine is a gold mine 82 km south-south-west of the town of Sandstone. It is near the abandoned town of Youanmi, in the Murchison Region of Western Australia....
and Gidgee, where it would mine the Wilson deposit. Production was to commence in 18 to 24 month. With the acquisition of the Wiluna Gold Mine
Wiluna Gold Mine
The Wiluna Gold Mine is an active gold mine in Western Australia near the town of Wiluna. The mine was active from 1984 till its closure in 2007; when it was put into care and maintenance; and again since late 2008....
in June 2007, Wiluna replaced Gidgee as the location of the central processing facility. Gidgee, like Youanmi, were to serve as mining locations only, with ore from Gidgee to be transported to Wiluna, 130 km north-east of Gidgee.
APEX announced in June 2008, that it would start developing an underground decline from its Wilson 3 pit at Gidgee in October 2008, followed by first ore production in early 2009. The company revised this plan, however and decided to only proceed with the development of the Wiluna mine. It halted all exploration activities at Gidgee and Younami, too. Difficulties encountered in the underground mining and plant commissioning at Wiluna forced APEX to go through a number of capital raisings, the latest in September 2009, when the company raised A$108 million. Consequently, APEX share price fell from a height of A$1.40 in early 2008 to below 4 cent by the end of 2009.
Subsequently, APEX returned to its previously abandoned strategy of sourcing ore from Gidgee as well as Wiluna for its processing facility. It now plans to commence mining at Gidgee once more in March 2010. In late December 2009, APEX announced a further delay with the development of the Gidgee mine because of the need of an upgrade of the Gidgee - 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...
road. APEX anticipated that mining could be delayed another two or three month, but, as of the end of July 2010, no further mention of the Gidgee mine being reopened has been made.
In early 2011, the sale of the mine to Panoramic Resources was announced. APEX however retained the rights to the Wilson deposit. Panoramic purchased the mine for A$15.5 million and announced plans to refurbish the production facilities.
Ownership
Previous owners of the Gidgee Gold Mine:| Company | From | To |
| Australian Resources Limited | ? | October 1999 |
| Abelle Limited | October 1999 | April 2003 |
| Harmony Gold Harmony Gold (mining) Harmony Gold is the third largest gold mining company in South Africa , the 12th largest in the world and the 5th largest gold producer in the world. Harmony and its subsidiaries conduct underground and surface gold mining and related activities, including exploration, processing, smelting and... |
April 2003 | December 2003 |
| Legend Mining | December 2003 | May 2007 |
| APEX Minerals NL | May 2007 | February 2011 |
| Panoramic Resources | February 2011 | Present |
Production
Production of the mine:| Year | Production | Grade | Cost per ounce |
| 2001 | 67,131 ounces | 3.98 g/t | |
| 2002 | 61,780 ounces | A$415 | |
| 2003 | 62,032 ounces | ||
| 2004 | 42,297 ounces | 5.68 g/t | A$516 |
| 2005 | 6,860 ounces | 6.61 g/t | A$612 |
| 2005–present | inactive | ||
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