Burbanks Gold Mine

Burbanks
Location
Burbanks Gold Mine
Location in Australia
Location Coolgardie
State Western Australia
Country Australia
Coordinates 31°02′S 121°08′E / 31.033°S 121.133°ECoordinates: 31°02′S 121°08′E / 31.033°S 121.133°E
Production
Production Tribute mining
Financial year 2010-11
History
Opened 1887
Active 1887–1914
1950s–1991
2006–2007
2009-present
Owner
Company Barra Resources Limited
Website Barra website
Year of acquisition 2000

The Burbanks Gold Mine is a gold mine located 9 km south east of Coolgardie, Western Australia.

It is currently owned by Barra Resources Limited.

History

Gold mines in the Kalgoorlie region

The Burbanks deposit historically produced over 400,000 ounces of gold from both underground and open pit mining.[1] Small scale mining still continued in the late 1990s.[2] From 1887 to 1914, the mine was the highest grade gold mine in Western Australia with 22.7 grams of gold per tonne. It was mined by WMC Resources in the early 1950s but closed down in 1991.[3]

Barra acquired the mine in September 2000 from WMC[4] and mined the deposit in an underground operation, developing a decline from the already existing Lady Robinson pit from July 2006. After mining 24,900 ounces of gold, Barra stopped the operation in August 2007,[5] allowing it to pursue an exploration campaign.[6] In late 2007, Barra believed to have made one of the most spectacular gold discoveries in Australian resources history, hitting an intersection yielding a very high 10,300 grams of gold per tonne,[3] at 350 metres below surface, in a vicinity where no drilling had been carried out before.[7]

In June 2009, Burbanks recommenced gold production in a mining and profit-share arrangement between Barra and Mulgabbie Mining Pty Ltd.[8] Ore will be treated at the Burbanks production facility of Ramelius Resources, which the company usually utilises for its own Wattle Dam Gold Mine.[9]

Production

Production of the mine:

Year Production Grade Cost per ounce
1997 [2] 5,405 ounces 3.3 g/t
1998 [2] 2,253 ounces 13.4 g/t
1999 [2] 783 ounces 1 19.2 g/t
2006-07 [10] 17,840 ounces 3.64 g/t
2007-08 inactive
2008-09 inactive

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Barra Resources website - Burbanks accessed: 6 September 2009
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page: 75
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Barra bonanza gold find could be largest The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 21 December 2007, accessed: 6 September 2009
  4. ↑ MINEDEX website Burbanks / Barra search result, accessed: 26 January 2010
  5. ↑ Barra Resources announcement - Burbanks project accessed: 6 September 2009
  6. ↑ Barra to restart Burbanks gold mine Australasian Tunneling Society, accessed: 6 September 2009
  7. ↑ HIGHEST GRADING INTERSECTION AT BURBANKS Barra Resources ASX announcement, published: 21 December 2007, accessed: 6 September 2009
  8. ↑ Barra Resources ASX announcement published: 22 June 2009, accessed: 6 September 2009
  9. ↑ Barra Resources ASX announcement published: 6 May 2009, accessed: 6 September 2009
  10. ↑ Barra Resources annual report 2007 accessed: 6 September 2009

External links