Round Mountain Gold Mine

Round Mountain

Aerial photo of Round Mountain open pit in 2008
Location
Round Mountain
Location of Round Mountain Gold Mine
Location Nye County
State Nevada
Country United States
Coordinates 38°42′36″N 117°03′58″W / 38.71000°N 117.06611°WCoordinates: 38°42′36″N 117°03′58″W / 38.71000°N 117.06611°W
Production
Production 184,554[1]
Financial year 2010
Owner
Company Kinross Gold
Website kinross.com
Year of acquisition 2003

The Round Mountain Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine in Round Mountain, Nevada. The mine is operated as a joint venture between Kinross Gold and Barrick Gold, with Kinross as the operator.

History

Mining at Round Mountain occurred as early as 1906, using underground techniques. The mine produced 350,000 ounces of gold through underground mining over a sixty-year period, before converting to an open pit.[2] In 2003 Kinross acquired 50% of the Round Mountain mine from Echo Bay Mines through a merger. [1]

Description

The Round Mountain Gold Mine is a 50-50 joint venture between Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold, with Kinross as the operator. The mine is 55 miles (89 km) north of the town of Tonopah, with a workforce of approximately 750 people. In 2010, expansion of the mine was approved by the Bureau of Land Management. The expansion would include increasing the depth and width of the pit, and increasing the capacity of related mining and mineral processing infrastructure. The expansion was appealed by the non-governmental organizations Great Basin Resource Watch and the Western Shoshone Defense Project. The groups also appealed the construction of Gold Hill, a second pit near Round Mountain, that is part of the expansion.[3][4] As of summer 2011, road construction and environmental mitigation had started for the Round Hill expansion. Ore from the Gold Hill site will be processed on site on a leach pad, while the pouring of gold bars will take place at the Round Mountain facility.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Round Mountain, USA". Kinross Gold. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  2. ↑ Hardrock Mining on Federal Lands. National Research Council (U.S.). p. 136. ISBN 0-309-06596-8.
  3. ↑ Harding, Adella (7 July 2010). "BLM OKs Round Mountain expansion". Elko Daily Free Press. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  4. ↑ Harding, Adella (22 Aug 2010). "Appeals filed against Round Mountain". Elko Daily Free Press. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  5. ↑ Harding, Adella (Summer 2011). "Gold Hill moves closer to mining satellite pit". Elko Daily Free Press - Mining Quarterly. p. 36. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Round Mountain Mine.
Gold specimen from Round Mountain, size 2.0 x 1.8 x 0.7 cm.