Norseman Gold Mine

Norseman Gold Mine
Norseman Gold Mine Location in Australia 32°11′S 121°46′E / 32.18333°S 121.76667°E / -32.18333; 121.76667Coordinates: 32°11′S 121°46′E / 32.18333°S 121.76667°E / -32.18333; 121.76667
Location	Norseman
State	Western Australia
Country	Australia
Owner
Company	Norseman Gold Plc
Website	Norseman website
Year of acquisition	2007
ASX	NGX
Production
Financial year	2008-09
Ounces of Gold	80,753
History
Opened	1940s
v · d · e

The Norseman Gold Mine is a gold mine located at Norseman, Western Australia.

It is operated by Norseman Gold Plc and is Australia’s longest continuously running gold mining operation. The Norseman area lies at the southern end of the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt.^[1]

History

Gold was first discovered in the region at Dundas, 22 km south of present-day Norseman, followed in august 1894 by a gold discovery near the future town of Norseman itself, by Laurie Sinclair his brother George Sinclair & Jack Alsopp, the deposit was name the Norseman Reward after his horse, Hardy Norseman. The family came to Western Australia in December 1863 from The shetland Isles. ^[1][2]

In 1935, a new era of mining begun for the town, when Western Mining arrived in the region and invested in its infrastructure.^[2]

Operated by Central Norseman Gold Corporation Ltd, a subsidiary of Western Mining, the mine became effectively owned by Croesus Mining NL in February 2002, when Croesus purchased WMC's 50.5% share of the company for A$75 million.^[3][4] Croesus Mining went into administration in June 2006,^[5][6] after gold production levels at Norseman fell short of hedging commitments.^[7]

The mine was operated by Central Norseman Gold until April 2007, when it passed into the ownership of Davos Gold Pty Ltd, now Norseman Gold, who purchased it for a sum in excess of A$60 million^[4] The Norseman Gold Mine had been in administration for eleven month at the time of the sale and had been in operation for more than 65 years,^[8] producing in excess of 5.5 million ounces of gold in that time.

The mine is currently run as an underground operation only, with two declines being mined, Bullen and Harlequin.^[1] A third decline, named OK, will commence production in 2010.^[9]

On 5 August 2010, an underground miner at the mine was found dead at a new escape rise.^[10][11]

Production

Production of the mine:

Year	Gold production	Feed grade	Cost per ounce (A$/oz)
2000 [12]	109,612 ounces	10.84 g/t
2001 [12]	128,495 ounces	14.73 g/t
2002 [12]	137,023 ounces	9.75 g/t	300
2006-07 [13]	71,431 ounces
2007-08 [14]	77,229 ounces	6.02 g/t	800
2008-09 [15]	80,753 ounces	6.04 g/t	715

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

1. ^ ^{a b c} The Norseman Project Norseman Gold website, accessed: 30 December 2009
2. ^ ^{a b} History Shire of Dundas website, accessed: 30 December 2009
3. ^ CENTRAL NORSEMAN GOLD CORPORATION LIMITED (CNG) delisted.com.au, accessed: 30 December 2009
4. ^ ^{a b} Rush on for WA gold assets The Age, published: 6 November 2006, accessed: 30 December 2009
5. ^ CROESUS MINING NL (CRS) delisted.com.au, accessed: 30 December 2009
6. ^ Gold miner Croesus goes into liquidation miningtopnews.com, published: 27 June 2006, accessed: 30 December 2009
7. ^ Croesus Mining reviews acquisitions The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 28 January 2009, accessed: 30 December 2009
8. ^ Norseman Gold annual report 2007 accessed: 30 December 2009
9. ^ Foster, Geoffrey (29 October 2009) MARKET REPORT: End of U.S. slump lifts the spirits
10. ^ Fatal Accident Report 05/08/2010 WA mining fatalities database, accessed: 21 February 2011
11. ^ Fatality at the Norseman Project Norseman Gold Plc ASX announcement, published: 6 August 2010, accessed: 21 February 2011
12. ^ ^{a b c} The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 117
13. ^ Norseman Gold quarterly update published: 12 September 2007, accessed: 30 December 2009
14. ^ Norseman Gold annual report 2008 accessed: 30 December 2009
15. ^ Norseman Gold annual report 2009 accessed: 30 December 2009

External links

• Place Names Search Results - Norseman Geoscience Australia website
• MINEDEX website