Golden Grove Mine
Encyclopedia
The Golden Grove Mine is a copper
, lead
, silver
, zinc
and gold mine
located 52 km south-south-east of Yalgoo
, Western Australia
.
It is operated by Minerals and Metals Group
, which was formed after its parent company, China Minmetals
, bought the mine from OZ Minerals
in June 2009. Golden Grove was part of a deal in which the Sepon, Century, Rosebery
and Avebury Mines, the Dugald River, High Lake and Izok Lake Projects, as well as some exploration assets were sold for US$1.354 billion by OZ Minerals to China Minmetals.
The deal, initially including the Prominent Hill Mine, was blocked by the Australian Government
, citing national security concerns. Wayne Swan
, Treasurer of Australia
, stated that Prominent Hill could not be included in the sale as it was within sensitive military area and the sale went only ahead after Prominent Hill was excluded.
in November 1991. Normandy, now renamed Normandy Mining Ltd, was acquired by Newmont Australia Ltd in February 2002.
Newmont passed on the mine to Oxiana Limited
in June 2005 for A$ 265 million and Oxiana merged with Zinifex
to form OZ Minerals
in mid-2008. OZ Minerals had to sell Golden Grove in June 2009 to China Minmetals, like almost all its other mines, when the company was hit by severe financial difficulties.
The Golden Grove mine currently consists of two operations that are 3 km apart, the Gossan Hill underground mine and the Scuddles underground mine, which both produce zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold. The Gossan Hill deposit was first discovered in 1971 and the Scuddles deposit was first discovered in 1979.
In 2008, the mine's revenue was A$266.2 million and had a segment operating result of A$72.1 million
In June 2009, OZ Minerals announced that a trunnion bearing failure on its mill at Golden Grove had put the mill out of service for the almost a month, shortly before the approval of the sale of the mine, but operations resumed in July 2009.
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, 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...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
and gold mine
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 52 km south-south-east of Yalgoo
Yalgoo, Western Australia
-Further reading:* Palmer, Alex. Yalgoo Fremantle, W.A: Lap Industries. ISBN 0959058400- See also :* Yalgoo - the ecological region* Thundelarra* Shire of Yalgoo - the local government region...
, 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 Minerals and Metals Group
Minerals and Metals Group
Minerals and Metals Group is an Australian-based mining company and wholly owned subsidiary of China Minmetals. It was formed in 2009 with the purchase of most of OZ Minerals' assets by China Minmetals; these collective assets became MMG...
, which was formed after its parent company, China Minmetals
China Minmetals
China Minmetals Corporation is a Chinese metals and mineral trading company. It is a state-controlled corporation existing under the laws of the People's Republic of China, is a diversified metals and mining company based in Beijing, China...
, bought the mine from OZ Minerals
OZ Minerals
OZ Minerals is an Australian mining company, formed from the merger of Oxiana Limited and Zinifex in 2008.In 2009, Chinese state owned China Minmetals proposed a purchase of the heavily indebted company. The Chinese proposal was one of three high profile moves by Chinese firms to acquire stakes in...
in June 2009. Golden Grove was part of a deal in which the Sepon, Century, Rosebery
Rosebery, Tasmania
Rosebery is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is situated at the northern end of the West Coast Range, in the shadow of Mount Black and adjacent to the Pieman River now Lake Pieman....
and Avebury Mines, the Dugald River, High Lake and Izok Lake Projects, as well as some exploration assets were sold for US$1.354 billion by OZ Minerals to China Minmetals.
The deal, initially including the Prominent Hill Mine, was blocked by the Australian Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
, citing national security concerns. Wayne Swan
Wayne Swan
Wayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
, Treasurer of Australia
Treasurer of Australia
The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
, stated that Prominent Hill could not be included in the sale as it was within sensitive military area and the sale went only ahead after Prominent Hill was excluded.
History
The mine was originally owned by Australian Consolidated Minerals Pty Ltd before passing into the ownership of Normandy Poseidon LtdNormandy Mining
Normandy Mining was an Australian mining company which predominantly mined gold. Normandy was, during much of the late 20th century, Australia's largest gold miner....
in November 1991. Normandy, now renamed Normandy Mining Ltd, was acquired by Newmont Australia Ltd in February 2002.
Newmont passed on the mine to Oxiana Limited
Oxiana Limited
Oxiana Limited was an Australia-based copper and gold miner and exploration company. The company's operations were located in Laos, Australia, Cyprus and the Philippines...
in June 2005 for A$ 265 million and Oxiana merged with Zinifex
Zinifex
Zinifex was an Australian company which operated two zinc and lead mines, three zinc refineries and a lead smelter. It was created following the insolvency of Pasminco in 2002, taking on Pasminco operations. In 2008 it merged with Oxiana Limited to form OZ Minerals.-History:Zinifex was the...
to form OZ Minerals
OZ Minerals
OZ Minerals is an Australian mining company, formed from the merger of Oxiana Limited and Zinifex in 2008.In 2009, Chinese state owned China Minmetals proposed a purchase of the heavily indebted company. The Chinese proposal was one of three high profile moves by Chinese firms to acquire stakes in...
in mid-2008. OZ Minerals had to sell Golden Grove in June 2009 to China Minmetals, like almost all its other mines, when the company was hit by severe financial difficulties.
The Golden Grove mine currently consists of two operations that are 3 km apart, the Gossan Hill underground mine and the Scuddles underground mine, which both produce zinc, copper, lead, silver and gold. The Gossan Hill deposit was first discovered in 1971 and the Scuddles deposit was first discovered in 1979.
In 2008, the mine's revenue was A$266.2 million and had a segment operating result of A$72.1 million
In June 2009, OZ Minerals announced that a trunnion bearing failure on its mill at Golden Grove had put the mill out of service for the almost a month, shortly before the approval of the sale of the mine, but operations resumed in July 2009.
Production
Production figures for the mine: 1| Year | Copper | Gold | Lead | Silver | Zinc |
| 2001 | 22,249 t | 5,356 oz | 4,937 t | 975,146 oz | 77,569 t |
| 2002 | 19,500 t | 10,300 oz | 4,937 t | 899,500 oz | 34,571 t |
| 2003 | |||||
| 2004 | |||||
| 2005 | 21,808 t | 25,272 oz | 4,949 t | 2,174,620 oz | 70,508 t |
| 2006 | 10,811 t | 49,354 oz | 11,458 t | 3,005,611 oz | 138,817 t |
| 2007 | 15,404 t | 48,807 oz | 8,119 t | 3,165,408 oz | 131,954 t |
| 2008 | 18,467 t | 47,755 oz | 13,300 t | 3,157,837 oz | 139,900 t |
| 2009** | 16,658 t | 0.9 million oz | 2,662 t | 818,050 oz | 36,375 t |
- 1 January to September 2002 only. **Total contained metals for June–December 2009.
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