- Marvel Loch Gold Mine
-
Marvel Loch Gold Mine Location in Australia
Marvel Loch Gold Mine31°28′S 119°29′E / 31.46667°S 119.48333°ECoordinates: 31°28′S 119°29′E / 31.46667°S 119.48333°E
Location Marvel Loch State Western Australia Country Australia Owner Company St Barbara Limited Website St Barbara website Year of acquisition March 2005 ASX SBM Production Financial year 2008-09 Ounces of Gold 156,105 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.[1] Apart from Marvel Loch, St Barbara also operates the Gwalia Gold Mine at Leonora and owns the Tarmoola Gold Mine, which is placed in care and maintenance.[2][3]
All three mines were previously owned by the now defunct mining company Sons of Gwalia Limited.[4] 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 & 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.[5][6][7]
Contents
History
Sons of Gwalia logo
Mining in the area around Marvel Loch dates back to the early 1900s and between 1905 and 1986, 136,300 ounces of gold were recorded as having been mined.[8]
Sons of Gwalia mined the Marvel Loch deposit as a surface mine for the most part of the mines history since reopening in the 1990s, upgrading its production facility in 2001.[8] In February 2001, the company announced it consolidated its Southern Cross operations, acquiring the remaining 30% of the Yilgarn Star Gold Mine it didn't own and merging the operation with Marvel Loch, closing the Yilgarn Star mill. It also acquired other interessts in the region in this transaction.[9][10] Since then, production from Yilgarn has been listed under Marvel Loch.[11]
After a rapid rise of the company, unauthorised gold and foreign exchange trading activities by chief financial officer Eardley Ross-Adjie in the year to June 2000, ended up costing Sons of Gwalia more than A$190 million.[12] Sons of Gwalia went into administration on 30 August 2004, following a financial collapse, with debts exceeding $800 million after suffering from falling gold reserves and hedging losses.[13] Sons of Gwalia was Australia's third-largest gold producer and also controlled more than half the world's production of tantalum.[14]
St Barbara purchased the mine from insolvent Sons of Gwalia in March 2005.[15]
Since the purchase of the Mine by St Barbara, mining has been carried out both in surface and underground operations. In July 2009, St Barbara suspended open pit mining at Marvel Loch and decided that the treatment plant will be operated on a week-on, week-off basis.[16]
Production
Production of the mine (including Yilgarn Star since June 2001):
Marvel Loch
Year Production Grade Cost per ounce 1997-98 [10] 90,008 ounces 2000 [8] 138,491 ounces 2.48 g/t A$ 416 2001 [8] 176,026 ounces 2.89 g/t A$ 419 2002 [8] 176,756 ounces 2.49 g/t A$ 480 2002-03 [17] 217,019 ounces A$ 454 2003-04 [18] 182,891 ounces A$ 452 2005 [19] 1 53,719 ounces 2.94 g/t A$ 336 2005-06 [20] 166,000 ounces 2.4 g/t A$ 443 2006-07 [21] 171,182 ounces 2,6 g/t A$ 508 2007-08 [22] 157,477 ounces 2.5 g/t A$ 550 2008-09 [23] 156,105 ounces 2.5 g/t A$ 888 - 1 2005 results for 28 March to 30 June only.
Yilgarn Star
Year Production Grade Cost per ounce 1997-98 [10] 88,417 ounces 2000 [11] 103,122 ounces 4.43 g/t A$ 384 2001 1 .[11] 23,511 ounces 3.76 g/t A$ 491 - 2 January to June 2002 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
References
- ^ St Barbara website - Southern Cross accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ St Barbara website - Leonora accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ St Barbara website - Operations overview accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 520
- ^ Sons of Gwalia Limited at delisted.com.au accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ St Barbara Mines Limited - Lodgment of Open Briefing published: 28 June 2005, accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ The West Australian, published 16 March 2005, accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ a b c d e The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 107
- ^ Rationalisation of Southern Cross Region of WA SGW ASX announcement, published: 7 February 2001, accessed: 8 February 2010
- ^ a b c Media Release: Highlights from Quarterly Report 30-6-98 SGW ASX announcement, published: 17 July 1998, accessed: 8 February 2010
- ^ a b c The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 137
- ^ How sons of Lalor built, then sank, Sons of Gwalia The Sydney Morning Herald, accessed: 4 September 2009
- ^ Ernst &Young agrees to $125m Sons of Gwalia settlement The West Australian, published: 4 September 2009, accessed: 4 September 2009
- ^ Sons of Gwalia's gold hedging had big holes The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 4 September 2004, accessed: 4 September 2009
- ^ St Barbara Mines Limited - Lodgement of Open Briefing published: 28 June 2005, accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ St Barbara suspends WA gold mine Metalsplace.com, published: 10 July 2009, accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ Sons of Gwalia annual report 2003 accessed: 12 January 2010
- ^ Sons of Gwalia fourth quarter report 2004 accessed: 12 January 2010
- ^ 2005 Annual report accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ 2006 Annual report accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ 2007 Annual report accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ 2008 Annual report accessed: 3 September 2009
- ^ June 2009 quarterly report accessed: 3 September 2009
External links
- Place Names Search Results - Marvel Loch Geoscience Australia website
- St Barbara website - Southern Cross operations
- Video: Blasting at Marvel Loch
- MINEDEX website
- How sons of Lalor built, then sank, Sons of Gwalia The Sydney Morning Herald - Article on the collapse of Sons of Gwalia
Active Gold Mines in Western Australia Goldfields-Esperance Agnew · BrightStar · Burbanks · Carosue Dam · Coolgardie · Daisy Milano · Darlot-Centenary · Frog's Leg · Granny Smith · Gwalia · Higginsville · Kalgoorlie Super Pit · Kanowna Belle · Laverton · Lawlers · Mount Morgans · Norseman · Paddington · Randalls · South Kalgoorlie · St Ives · Sunrise Dam · Wattle Dam · White Foil
Kimberley Mid West Bronzewing · Golden Grove · Jundee · Plutonic · Sandstone · Wiluna
Peel Pilbara Paulsens · Telfer
Wheatbelt Edna May · Marvel Loch
Related articles: Gold mining in Western Australia · Gold Stealing Detection Unit · Diggers & Dealers Categories:- Gold mines in Western Australia
- Surface mines in Australia
- Underground mines in Australia
- Wheatbelt (Western Australia)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
