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Granny Smith Gold Mine

The Granny Smith Gold Mine is a gold mine 21 km south of Laverton, Western Australia near Mount Weld and operated by Gold Fields.

As of 2022, it is one of four mines the company operates in Australia, the others being the Agnew, Gruyera and St Ives.

History

The Granny Smith gold deposit was discovered in 1979 by Canadian prospector Ray Lovi Smith and named after his wife Laurende.[1]

Construction of the mine took place in the late 1980s.[2]

The project was originally owned by Delta Gold, which became Auriongold in February 2002. Aurion was taken over by Placer Dome in 2003, who already held a 60% interest in the mine,[3] and Placer Dome in turn by Barrick Gold in March 2006.[4]

A large amount of ore processed at Granny Smith originated from the Wallaby deposit, approximately 10 km west of the mine, and was hauled to the Granny Smith mill for processing.[5][6] Open pit mining at Wallaby ceased in September 2006, followed by a ramp up of underground mining at the location.[7]

In February 2009, Barrick signed a memorandum of understanding with Crescent Gold to purchase ore from its Laverton Gold Mine and mill it at Granny Smith.[8][9] In January 2010, an agreement was signed with Range River Gold to purchase ore from the Mount Morgans Gold Mine and treat it at Granny Smith from February 2010 onwards.[10]

In October 2013, Barrick finalised the sale of their Australian Yilgarn South mines, consisting of the Granny Smith, Lawlers and Darlot mines to Gold Fields. Barrick sold the mines as it considered them high-cost and required cash to compensate for the rising cost of its Pascua-Lama gold project. The three mines accounted for six percent of Barrick's annual gold output at the time. Goldfields purchased the mines for US$300 million, half of which had to be paid in cash while the other half could be issued in shares.[11][12]

Environment

In 1999, abandoned mining pits at Granny Smith were used for trials on breeding silver perch and barramundi in salty water.[13]

Production

Granny Smith

Production of the mine as an individual entity:[14][15][16]

Yilgarn South

Production figures for the Yilgarn South operation, consisting of Darlot, Granny Smith and Lawlers:[17]

Granny Smith

Production of the mine as an individual operation again:[18][19][20][21][22]

External links

References

  1. John O’Hanlon. Barrick Gold: Granny Smith Mine Business Excellence Magazine, 23 January 2013, retrieved 6 December 2016^
  2. HISTORIC PICTURES RELEASED TO THE NATIONAL LIBRARY Thiess published: 17 November 2009, accessed: 2 January 2010^
  3. Placer Dome Seeks to Buy 2 Mining Concerns for $600 Million The New York Times, published: 29 November 1996, accessed: 2 January 2010^
  4. MINEDEX website - Granny Smith search result, accessed: 2 January 2010^
  5. Wallaby infomine.com, accessed: 2 January^
  6. Laverton Gold Project Crescent Gold website, accessed: 2 January^
  7. Department of Environment and Conservation - Works approval accessed: 3 January 2010^
  8. Crescent Gold signs landmark MOU with Barrick Gold over WA gold resource proactiveinvestors.com.au, published: 24 February 2009, accessed: 2 January 2010^
  9. Deal paves way for Laverton gold mining ABC News, published: 22 June 2009, accessed: 2 January 2010^
  10. Mt Morgans - Ore Sale Terms agreed with Barrick River Gold published: 27 January 2010, accessed: 9 February 2010^
  11. Alex Heber. Barrick finalises sale of three Australian gold mines Australian Mining, 2 October 2013, retrieved 31 March 2022^
  12. Sherilee Lakmidas. Barrick to sell three Australian mines to Gold Fields Reuters, 22 August 2013, retrieved 31 March 2022^
  13. Fishing the goldfields The World Today, broadcast: 11 October 1999, accessed: 2 January 2010^
  14. Granny Smith Gold Mine 24hgold.com, accessed: 2 January 2010^
  15. The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 90^
  16. Fourth Quarter & Year-End Mine Statistics 2007 accessed: 1 January 2010^
  17. Fourth Quarter & Year-End Mine Statistics 2008 accessed: 1 January 2010^
  18. 2021 Integrated Annual Report Gold Fields, retrieved 31 March 2022^
  19. 2020 Integrated Annual Report Gold Fields, retrieved 31 March 2022^
  20. Granny Smith Mine Mining Data Solutions, retrieved 31 March 2022^
  21. Reviewed results For the year ended 31 December 2022 Gold Fields, retrieved 1 March 2023^
  22. Reviewed results for the year ended 31 December 2023 Gold Fields, retrieved 25 February 2024^