Thunderbox Gold Mine
Encyclopedia
The Thunderbox Gold Mine is a gold mine 41 km south-east of Leinster
, Western Australia
. It is currently owned by Norilsk Nickel
and has been in care and maintenance since 2007.
Norilsk acquired the mine in June 2007, when it took over Lionore Mining.
The owners conducted a feasibility study in 2001 and predicted a mine life of five years and a gold resource of 850,000 ounces, to be mined in an open-pit operation. The company moved the processing plant from Mount Todd to the mine and first gold production was achieved at the end of 2002.
In mid-2003, Lionore and Dalrymple announced a merger of the two companies, with the new entity continuing to be called Lionore.
After good results in the mine's first two years of operation, Thunderbox suffered a difficult 2005, with lower-than-expected production in the second half of the year. Water shortages and equipment reliability issues were two of the main reasons for the decline in production, but write-downs because of its short remaining mine life led to large financial losses for the Thunderbox operation. Lionore at this stage was contemplating selling the mine.
In April 2007, it was once more reported that the mine was for sale.
Lionore Mining was taken over by Russia
n company Norilsk in June 2007, after a bidding war between Norilsk and Xstrata
saw the former succeeding with the higher offer. Xstrata had originally offered C$
18.50 for every Lionore share, countered by a Norilsk offer of C$21.50 per share. Xstrata raised their offer to C$25, which forced Norilsk to present a final offer of C$27.50.
Shortly after the takeover, Norilsk announced that it would not continue mining at Thunderbox, instead preferring to concentrate on the company's nickel
projects. The mine eventually closed in November 2007.
After the closure of the mine, Norilsk used the camp at Thunderbox for accommodation for its workers at the nearby Waterloo Nickel Mine, until the later was placed into care and maintenance, too.
No plans for a reopening of the mine have been announced.
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 currently owned by Norilsk Nickel
MMC Norilsk Nickel
MMC Norilsk Nickel is a nickel and palladium mining and smelting company. Its largest operations are located in the Norilsk–Talnakh area, in northern Russia. MMC stands for "Mining and Metallurgical Company"....
and has been in care and maintenance since 2007.
Norilsk acquired the mine in June 2007, when it took over Lionore Mining.
History
The Thunderbox gold deposit is a relatively recent discovery by Western Australian gold mining standards, having been located through drilling in mid-1999. The deposit was jointly owned by Lionore (60%) and Dalrymple Resources (40%).The owners conducted a feasibility study in 2001 and predicted a mine life of five years and a gold resource of 850,000 ounces, to be mined in an open-pit operation. The company moved the processing plant from Mount Todd to the mine and first gold production was achieved at the end of 2002.
In mid-2003, Lionore and Dalrymple announced a merger of the two companies, with the new entity continuing to be called Lionore.
After good results in the mine's first two years of operation, Thunderbox suffered a difficult 2005, with lower-than-expected production in the second half of the year. Water shortages and equipment reliability issues were two of the main reasons for the decline in production, but write-downs because of its short remaining mine life led to large financial losses for the Thunderbox operation. Lionore at this stage was contemplating selling the mine.
In April 2007, it was once more reported that the mine was for sale.
Lionore Mining was taken over by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n company Norilsk in June 2007, after a bidding war between Norilsk and Xstrata
Xstrata
Xstrata plc is a global mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of coal , copper, nickel, primary vanadium and zinc and the world's largest producer of ferrochrome...
saw the former succeeding with the higher offer. Xstrata had originally offered C$
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
18.50 for every Lionore share, countered by a Norilsk offer of C$21.50 per share. Xstrata raised their offer to C$25, which forced Norilsk to present a final offer of C$27.50.
Shortly after the takeover, Norilsk announced that it would not continue mining at Thunderbox, instead preferring to concentrate on the company's nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
projects. The mine eventually closed in November 2007.
After the closure of the mine, Norilsk used the camp at Thunderbox for accommodation for its workers at the nearby Waterloo Nickel Mine, until the later was placed into care and maintenance, too.
No plans for a reopening of the mine have been announced.
Production
Production figures of the mine:| Year | Gold production |
Grade | Cost per ounce |
| 2002 | 17,790 ounces | 2.38 g/t | US$ 95 |
| 2003 | 212,459 ounces | US$ 138 | |
| 2004 | 156,916 ounces | US$ 265 | |
| 2005 | 145,413 ounces | US$ 339 | |
| 2006 | 155,203 ounces | US$ 352 | |
| 2007 | 39,345 ounces 1 | US$ 518 |
- 1 Results for January to March 2007 quarter only.
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