Bulyanhulu Gold Mine

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Bulyanhulu
Location
Bulyanhulu Gold Mine
Location in Tanzania
Location Kahama
Region Shinyanga
Country Tanzania
Coordinates 03°14′S 032°29′E / 3.233°S 32.483°E / -3.233; 32.483Coordinates: 03°14′S 032°29′E / 3.233°S 32.483°E / -3.233; 32.483
History
Opened 2001
Closed 2034 (expected)
Owner
Company African Barrick Gold
Website ABG website
Year of acquisition 1999
LSE ABG

Bulyanhulu Gold Mine is an underground gold mine in the Shinyanga Region of Tanzania, located 55 kilometres south of Lake Victoria. It is one of three gold mines African Barrick Gold, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange, operates in Tanzania, the other two being Buzwagi and the North Mara Gold Mine.

History

Gold mining in Tanzania in modern times dates back to the German colonial period, beginning with gold discoveries near Lake Victoria in 1894. The first gold mine in what was then Tanganyika, the Sekenke Mine, began operation in 1909, and gold mining in Tanzania experienced a boom between 1930 and World War II. By 1967, gold production in the country had dropped to insignificance but was revived in the mid-1970s, when the gold price rose once more. In the late 1990s, foreign mining companies started investing in the exploration and development of gold deposits in Tanzania, leading to the opening of a number of new mines.[1]

Barrick acquired the Bulyanhulu project in 1999 when it purchased Sutton Resources, which was an mineral exploration company.[2] The mine is located 150 kilometres (93 mi) southwest of the city of Mwanza, a regional center. Bulyanhulu opened in 2001,[3] and was built for a capital cost of US$280 million.[4] Following the opening of Bulyanhulu, Tanzania became the third largest producer of gold in Africa, behind South Africa and Mali.[5]

Bulyanhulu consists of an underground mine, a process plant, waste rock dumps, tailing containment, water management ponds, and associated facilities. As of 2012 there was an expected mine life of 25 years remaining.[3] When it opened it was Tanzania's deepest mine.[5]

Safety

In 2006 a miner was killed by a falling rock, and in March 2010 a fall of ground was responsible for the death of three miners and the destruction of the drill jumbo they were operating.[6][7] In 2009 Bulyanhulu was awarded a National Award by Tanzania Occupational Safety and Health Authority for their health and safety program.[7][8]

The Bulyanhulu mine has an experienced Emergency Response Team, which is often sent off site to other locations to assist in rescue operations at both operating and closed mines.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Tanzania Mining History tanzaniagold.com, accessed: 24 July 2010
  2. ↑ Thomaz, Carla (7 October 2005). "Bulyanhulu Mine". Creamer's Mining Weekly. Retrieved 21 July 2010. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 African Barrick Gold website: Bulyanhulu Gold Mine accessed: 22 July 2010
  4. ↑ "Buzwagi pours first gold". Daily News. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-22. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dean, Roger (22 July 2001). "Tanzania's pot of gold". BBC News. Retrieved 22 July 2010. 
  6. ↑ "Barrick Tanzania gold mine to resume Friday". Reuters. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2010. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Patty, Magubira (18 March 2010). "Three workers die in mine accident". The Citizen. Retrieved 2010-07-21. 
  8. ↑ "FATALITIES: Three dead in fall of ground at Bulyanhulu". Canadian Mining Journal. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010. 

External links

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