Buzwagi Gold Mine

Buzwagi
Location
Buzwagi Gold Mine
Location in Tanzania
Location Kahama
Region Shinyanga
Country Tanzania
Coordinates 3°51′40″S 32°40′15″E / 3.86111°S 32.67083°ECoordinates: 3°51′40″S 32°40′15″E / 3.86111°S 32.67083°E
Production
Production 189,000
Financial year 2009
History
Opened 2009
Closed 2022 (expected)
Owner
Company African Barrick Gold
Website ABG website
Year of acquisition 2000

Buzwagi Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine in the Shinyanga Region of Tanzania, located 6 kilometres southeast from the town of Kahama, Tanzania. It is operated by African Barrick Gold.

It is one of four gold mines African Barrick Gold, a subsidiary of Barrick Gold, operates in Tanzania, the other three being Tulawaka, Bulyanhulu and the North Mara Gold Mine. In the financial year 2009, the four operations produced a combined amount of 716,000 attributable ounces of gold.[1][2]

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.[3]

Barrick acquired Buzwagi, alongside Tulawaka, as part of its acquisition of Pangea Goldfields Inc. in 2000.[4] The mine, the second largest mining operation and the largest single open pit mine in Tanzania, opened in 2009. The mine was construction for Buzwagi cost approximately $400 million,[5] and employed more than 3,000 people.[6] It consists of an open pit mine, ore processing facilities, a waste rock storage facility, a tailings storage facility, as well as water management and other ancillary facilities. In 2009, Buzwagi employed close to 1,500 people. It has, as of 2009, an expected mine life of 13 years remaining.[7] Mine production costs are expected to be a maximum of US$335 per ounce.[5]

In 2010, 60 employees were suspended, after Barrick discovered widespread fuel theft by employees at the mine.[8]

Production

Production figures for the mine since opening in 2009:[7]

Year Production Grade Cost per ounce Tonnes processed
2009 189,000 ounces 2.24 g/t US$ 422 2,670,518
2010
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References

  1. ↑ African Barrick Gold website accessed: 22 July 2010
  2. ↑ Patrick, Margot (19 March 2010). "African Barrick Gold Weakens on Debut". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  3. ↑ Tanzania Mining History tanzaniagold.com, accessed: 24 July 2010
  4. ↑ Overview / Profile&categoryChosen=History of ABG ABG African Barrick Gold website: History accessed: 24 July 2010
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hill, Liezel (4 May 2008). "Barrick reports first gold pour at Tanzania mine". Creamers Mining Weekly. Retrieved 2010-07-21.
  6. ↑ "Buzwagi pours first gold". Daily News. 11 May 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 African Barrick Gold website: Buzwagi Gold Mine accessed: 22 July 2010
  8. ↑ "Mining Journal - African Barrick suspends Buzwagi employees". Retrieved 2010-10-16.

External links