The Paddington Gold Mine is a gold mine located 5 km south of Broad Arrow, and 30 km north of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Paddington Gold Mine Location in Western Australia | |
| Location | Broad Arrow |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 30°29′23″S 121°21′06″E / 30.48972°S 121.35167°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Gold |
| Production | 177,000 ounces |
| Financial year | 2022 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1985 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Norton Gold Fields Limited |
| Website | www |
| Year of acquisition | 2007 |
 | |
It is operated by Norton Gold Fields Limited, having acquired the mine from Barrick Gold on 25 August 2007 for A$45 million.[1]
History
edit
The mine opened in 1985, under the ownership of Pancontinental Mining, mining ore in two open pit operations, the two original open pits being active until 2002. In 1994, the processing plant was upgraded to be able to handle 3.0 million tonnes of ore per annum.[1]
AurionGold, the former Goldfields Limited, was taken over by Placer Dome Limited in January 2003.[2][3] Placer Dome in turn was taken over by Barrick Gold in March 2006.[4]
In 2007, the mining tenements were enlarged through the acquisition of the Mount Pleasant and Ora Banda properties. Shortly after, on 26 April 2007, Norton announced it had purchased the mine from Barrick Gold for A$45 million.[5] It moved the small Kundana Plant, at the Kundana Gold Mine near Paddington and part of the sale, to its Mount Morgan Mine Project, near Rockhampton, Queensland.[6]
Underground mining commenced in April 2009 with the cutting of a portal at Norton's Homestead deposit at Mount Pleasant, 18 km south-west of the Paddington mill,[1] and is expected to deliver mill feed from December 2009 with a grade in excess of 6.0 g/t. Production performance of the mine was below plan in 2008-09, having been scheduled at 145,000 ounces and achieved only 137,000, because of shortfalls in the second half of 2008.[7]
In August 2009, Norton signed an agreement with Curtin University of Technology’s Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) to establish cooperation in education, professional development, and research and development between WASM and the Paddington Gold Mine.[8]
On 28 September 2009, two miners were seriously injured, having been pinned between the counterweight of an excavator and a wall in the plant area.[9]
Following acquisition by Chinese company Zijin Mining, Norton Gold Fields Limited was delisted from the Australian Securities Exchange in July 2017.[10]
Production
editRecent production of the mine:[1][11][12][13]
| Year | Production | Grade | Cost per ounce |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 209,000 ounces | 2.2 g/t | A$ 317 |
| 1998–99 | 162,000 ounces | 2.2 g/t | A$400 |
| 1999–2000 | 132,000 ounces | 2.7 g/t | A$352 |
| 2000–01 | 148,000 ounces | 1.8 g/t | A$376 |
| 2001–02 | 225,000 ounces | 2.3 g/t | A$383 |
| 2002–03 | 308,000 ounces | 3.2 g/t | A$498 |
| 2003–04 | 244,000 ounces | 2.6 g/t | A$478 |
| 2004–05 | 243,000 ounces | 2.6 g/t | A$576 |
| 2005–06 | 259,000 ounces | 2.9 g/t | A$501 |
| 2006–07 | 214,000 ounces | 2.2 g/t | |
| 2007–08 | 126,000 ounces | 1.5 g/t | A$754 |
| 2008–09 | 135,067 ounces | 1.45 g/t | A$791 |
| 2009–10 | 140,436 ounces | ||
| 2010–11 | |||
| 2011–12 | |||
| 2012–13 | |||
| 2013–14 | |||
| 2014–15 | |||
| 2015–16 | |||
| 2016–17 | 190,993 ounces | 1.97 g/t | |
| 2017 | |||
| 2018 | |||
| 2019 | |||
| 2020 | 185,606 ounces | ||
| 2021 | |||
| 2022 | 177,000 ounces |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Norton Gold Fields Limited website - Paddington Gold Mine (100%) (Paddington) Archived 2009-10-03 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2 October 2009
- ^ The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page: 118
- ^ AURIONGOLD LIMITED (AOR) delisted.com.au, accessed: 2 October 2009
- ^ PLACER DOME INC (PDG) delisted.com.au, accessed: 2 October 2009
- ^ Norton Gold Fields Limited ASX announcement published: 26 April 2007, accessed: 2 October 2009
- ^ Norton Gold Fields Limited website - Mount Morgan Mine Project (100%) Archived 2013-04-09 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 2 October 2009
- ^ Norton annual report 2009 Archived 2017-02-21 at the Wayback Machine published: August 2009, accessed: 2 October 2009
- ^ Curtin and Paddington, training the miners of the future Curtin University website, published: 3 August 2009, accessed: 2 October 2009
- ^ Serious accident at Paddington Australian Mining website, published: 28 September 2009, accessed: 2 October 2009
- ^ "NORTON GOLD FIELDS LIMITED (NGF)". www.delisted.com.au. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Paddington Mill". nortongoldfields.com.au. Norton Gold Fields Limited. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Zijin Mining 2020 Annual Report" (PDF). www.zijinmining.com. Zijin Mining. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Norton Gold Fields". www.zijinmining.com. Zijin Mining. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
Bibliography
edit- Louthean, Ross (ed.). The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition. Louthean Media Pty Ltd.
External links
edit- Official website
- MINEDEX website: Paddington - Mt Pleasant Database of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety