Review of International Operations
St Ives Gold Mine
 Technical short form report (PDF - 2MB)
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Gold production for C2010 at 468,000 ounces (C2009: 415,000 ounces) |
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Achievement of an margin of 29% in the December 2010 quarter (September 2010 quarter: 22%) |
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Cash cost reduction of 5% to A$776/ (US$710) in C2010 (C2009: A$816/ (US$637)) |
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An increase in Mineral Reserves of 28% to 2.8 million ounces |
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The advanced status of construction at Athena, which is on budget and ahead of schedule |
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Initiation of the construction of the decline to access the Hamlet ore body |
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| PRODUCTION: 13,094 kg (421,000 ozs) TOTAL CASH COSTS: AUS$806 (US$710/oz) |
The St Ives Gold Mine is located 80 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie, near Lake Lefroy in the Eastern Goldfields Region of Western Australia. Gold was discovered at Kambalda in 1897 at “Red Hill camp”. New discoveries during 1919 led to the construction of many small mines and a town in the St Ives area
St Ives takes its name from the largest of the many small, historic workings scattered throughout the area, that of Ives Reward, which was discovered by prospector Pat Ives. Mining was discontinued for many years until resumed by Western Mining Company (WMC) Limited in 1981, when gold production from St Ives began. Since then St Ives has produced 102.3 Mt of ore at an average grade of 3.13 g/t yielding 10.6 Moz from 40 open pits and 16 underground mining operations. Gold Fields Limited acquired the St Ives gold mining operations in Western Australia from WMC Limited in December 2001.
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Units |
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Dec 20111 |
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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 BCM |
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2,508 |
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10,850 |
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9,921 |
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11,807 |
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9,892 |
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Ore mined |
’000 tonnes |
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2,087 |
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6,660 |
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5,799 |
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5,143 |
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3,928 |
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Head grade |
g/t |
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1.94 |
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1.35 |
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1.5 |
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1.7 |
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2.2 |
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Strip ratio |
waste:ore |
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3.3 |
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4.2 |
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4.3 |
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5.8 |
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6.8 |
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Underground mining |
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– Ore mined |
’000 tonnes |
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904 |
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1,444 |
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1,222 |
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901 |
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1,336 |
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– Head grade |
g/t |
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4.90 |
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4.7 |
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5.1 |
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5.2 |
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5.3 |
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Source of ore |
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– Milled |
’000 tonnes |
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2,419 |
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4,766 |
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4,821 |
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4,647 |
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4,669 |
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– Heap leach |
’000 tonnes |
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866 |
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2,052 |
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2,441 |
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2,586 |
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2,090 |
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Total |
’000 tonnes |
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3,284 |
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6,818 |
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7,262 |
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7,233 |
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6,759 |
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– Milled |
g/t |
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3.2 |
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2.5 |
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2.5 |
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2.5 |
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3.3 |
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– Heap leach |
g/t |
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0.8 |
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0.5 |
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0.5 |
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0.6 |
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0.9 |
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Combined |
g/t |
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2.3 |
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1.9 |
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1.8 |
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1.8 |
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2.2 |
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– Milled |
kg |
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7,147 |
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12,096 |
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12,187 |
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11,552 |
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14,177 |
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– Heap leach |
kg |
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410 |
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999 |
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1,135 |
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1,440 |
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969 |
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Gold produced |
kg |
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7,557 |
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13,096 |
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13,322 |
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12,992 |
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15,146 |
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Gold produced |
koz |
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243 |
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421 |
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428 |
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418 |
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487 |
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Operating costs |
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Total cash costs |
A$/oz |
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757 |
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806 |
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805 |
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649 |
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540 |
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US$/oz |
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710 |
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n/a |
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600 |
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582 |
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424 |
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Capital expenditure |
A$ million |
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59.2 |
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116.8 |
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92,9 |
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120,3 |
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96,6 |
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National cash expenditures (NCE) |
A$/oz |
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1,025 |
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1,842 |
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1,023 |
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932 |
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738 |
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US$/oz |
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962 |
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n/a |
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757 |
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836 |
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579 |
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General |
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Number of employees (TEC) |
No |
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774 |
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828 |
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699 |
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661 |
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865 |
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Life of Mine |
years |
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6 |
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4 |
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4 |
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4 |
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4 |
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Mineral Reserves |
Mt |
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32.7 |
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30.6 |
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30.1 |
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25.9 |
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33.0 |
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Mineral Reserves head grade |
g/t |
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2.7 |
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2.3 |
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2.4 |
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2.3 |
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2.4 |
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1Figures 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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