Review of International Operations
Agnew Gold Mine
 Technical short form report (PDF - 1MB)
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Maintenance of strong safety performance, with a period of
14 months without a Lost Time Injury |
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Successful delineation of the Kim South ore body; Agnew now has a seven year mine life |
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A 7.7% increase in Mineral Reserves to 1.3 million ounces from June 2010 |
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Implementation of owner mining together with improved productivity |
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Improved mining efficiencies and ore body recovery in the second half of C2010 following a lack of stope availability in mid-C2010 caused by reduced development rates |
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| PRODUCTION:5,140 kg (165,000 ozs) TOTAL CASH COSTS: AUS$611 (US$539/oz) |
The Waroonga Gold deposit was discovered in 1897, with initial mining conducted by Waroonga Gold Mines Ltd from 1897 to 1911. East Murchison United Gold Mines Limited again worked the deposit 1948 totalled 0.3 Mt at a recovered grade of 9.8 g/t.
The Agnew Gold Mining Company Pty Limited – a subdivision of Western Mining Corporation (WMC) – commenced exploration in 1976 after acquiring full ownership of the lease. A trial pit was started in 1985 with large-scale open pit mining of the Waroonga Pit continuing in 1986 and concluding in 1992. Exploratory underground development commenced in March 1989 but subeconomic grades coupled with large development dimensions and historic stoping, ended underground mining in June 1990.
The Waroonga Pit underwent a cutback from March 2001 to February 2003, during which time (December 2001) ownership of Agnew Gold Mines Pty Limited transferred from WMC to Gold Fields Limited. Underground operations also recommenced in March 2002 with decline access from the pit ramp. The Waroonga underground complex consists of numerous lodes with current mining of the Kim, Main and Rajah lodes.
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Units |
Dec 20101 |
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June 2010 |
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June 2009 |
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June 2008 |
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June 2007 |
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Open pit mining |
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– Waste mined |
’000 tonnes |
– |
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– |
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– |
|
191 |
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9,315 |
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– Ore mined |
’000 tonnes |
– |
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– |
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– |
|
202 |
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1,532 |
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– Head grade |
g/t |
– |
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– |
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– |
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3.2 |
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2.6 |
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– Strip ratio |
waste:ore |
– |
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– |
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– |
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1.0 |
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6.1 |
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Underground mining |
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– Ore mined |
’000 tonnes |
312 |
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581 |
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737 |
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505 |
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394 |
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– Head grade |
g/t |
8.4 |
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6.2 |
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7.9 |
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9.3 |
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11.7 |
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Source of ore |
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– Milled |
’000 tonnes |
417 |
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883 |
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1,066 |
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1,315 |
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1,323 |
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– Heap leach |
’000 tonnes |
NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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Total |
’000 tonnes |
417 |
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883 |
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1,066 |
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1,315 |
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1,323 |
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– Milled |
g/t |
5.9 |
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5.8 |
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5.6 |
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4.8 |
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5.0 |
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– Heap leach |
g/t |
NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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Combined |
g/t |
5.9 |
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5.8 |
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5.6 |
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4.8 |
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5.0 |
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– Milled |
kg |
2,477 |
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5,140 |
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5,974 |
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6,336 |
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6,605 |
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– Heap leach |
kg |
NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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NA |
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Gold produced |
kg |
2,477 |
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5,140 |
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5,974 |
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6,336 |
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6,605 |
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Gold produced |
koz |
80 |
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165 |
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192 |
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204 |
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212 |
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Operating costs |
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Total cash costs |
A$/oz |
662 |
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611 |
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541 |
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496 |
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377 |
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US$/oz |
621 |
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539 |
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401 |
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445 |
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295 |
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Capital expenditure |
A$ million |
27 |
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63 |
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42 |
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37 |
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36 |
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Notional cash expenditure (NCE) |
US$/oz |
951 |
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875 |
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550 |
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568 |
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473 |
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General |
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Number of employees (TEC) |
No |
370 |
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362 |
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346 |
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324 |
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371 |
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Expected Life of Mine |
years |
7 |
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7 |
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4 |
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3 |
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3 |
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Mineral Reserves |
Mt |
6.9 |
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6.7 |
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2.9 |
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2.5 |
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3.4 |
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Head grade of Mineral Reserves |
g/t |
6.0 |
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5.7 |
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7.7 |
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7.7 |
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6.0 |
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1 Changed from fiscal-based reporting to calendar year reporting as of July 2010. Figures shown above represent the six months ended 31 December 2010.
Rounding off of figures presented in this report may result in minor computational discrepancies. Where this occurs it is not deemed significant.
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| Open pit mining |
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