Beta Hunt Mine
The Beta Hunt Mine is a nickel and gold mine near Kambalda in Western Australia. It is owned and operated by Canadian company RNC Minerals through a subsidiary named Salt Lake Mining Pty Ltd. The mining tenement is held by Gold Fields Limited and leased to Salt Lake Mining.[2]
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Beta Hunt  Beta Hunt | |
| Location | Kambalda |
| state | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 31.218°S 121.679°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Nickel, Gold |
| Production | 50,311 ounces of gold mined[1] |
| Financial year | FY 2017-18 |
| Type | underground |
| History | |
| Discovered | 1966[2] |
| Opened | 1973 |
| Active | 1973–2008, 2014–present |
| Owner | |
| Company | RNC Minerals TSX: RNX |
| Website | www |
| Year of acquisition | 2013 |
The mine is licensed to extract up to 480,000 kilolitres (17,000,000 cu ft) or water and discharge it into Lake Lefroy to maintain access to the mineral resources.[3]
History
The Beta Hunt Mine was originally a nickel mine, exploiting an ore body discovered in 1966. The mine opened in 1973[4] and produced 153,500 tonnes of nickel metal for WMC Resources by 1998.
The mine was sold to Gold Fields Limited in 2001. Reliance Mining acquired the nickel rights in 2003 and was acquired by Consolidated Minerals in 2005.[5]
The mine was placed in care and maintenance in 2008. It was acquired by Salt Lake Mining in 2013 after that company also secured gold mining rights. It resumed producing nickel in 2014 and started producing gold in November 2015.[2]
In September 2018, a large deposit of gold-bearing quartz rock was discovered in the mine during routine blasting, 500 metres (1,600 ft) underground.[6]
References
- "Focused on Value Creation" (PDF). RNC Minerals. 4 September 2018. p. 34. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
- "Beta Hunt Mine". Producing Mines. RNC Minerals. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- "Salt Lake Mining Pty Ltd". Environmental Protection Act 1986, Part V. Western Australia Department of Environment Regulation. 9 July 2015. L8893/2015/1. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- Chiat, Josh (10 September 2018). "RNC Minerals uncovers two huge gold specimens in once-in-a-lifetime discovery". The West Australian. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- Phillips, Aaron E; Western Australian School of Mines. Dept. of Mining Engineering and Mine Surveying (2006), A quantitative thermal assessment of the East Alpha mining area at the Beta Hunt underground nickel mine, retrieved 10 September 2018
- Lucas, Jarrod (10 September 2018). "Gold 'mother lode' unearthed underground in Kambalda delivers $15 million in just four days". ABC Goldfields. Retrieved 10 September 2018.