Sandstone Gold Mine

The Sandstone Gold Mine is a gold mine located 6 km south east of Sandstone, Western Australia.

Sandstone
Location
Sandstone Gold Mine
Location in Australia
LocationSandstone
StateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Coordinates28°00′S 119°17′E
Production
Production29,885
Financial year2009-10
History
Opened1990
Closed2010 (scheduled)
Owner
CompanyTroy Resources
Websitewww.try.com.au
Year of acquisition1999

It is currently owned by Troy Resources. While not a particularly large mine, Sandstone has been very profitable for Troy in the past, having been the lowest-cost gold producing mine in Australia in the early 2000s.[1]

History
Mining in the Wiluna-Leinster area.

Gold mining at the Sandstone area stretches back over the past century. In 1894 a prospector discovered gold about 20 km south of present-day Sandstone and, in 1903, gold was found within a few hundred meters of the town. From 1903 to 1916, 930,000 ounces of gold were mined in town. With the outbreak of the First World War, the fortunes of the mine, and the town, declined and the population in Sandstone fell from a high of 8,000 in 1906 to approximately 200 in 1919.[2]

The current incarnation of the mine however dates back to 1990, when Herald Resources Limited begun milling operations. In 1999, Troy took ownership of the operations.[3]

Troy commenced production at the Bulchina mine at Sandstone in 2002, which lasted until early 2005 and produced 223,000 ounces of gold.[3] The company discovered two more gold deposits in the Sandstone region in 2004, the Lord Henry and the Lord Nelson deposits, located approximately 30 kilometres south east of Bulchina.[4]

Mining commenced at the Lord Nelson deposit in early 2005 and at the Lord Henry deposit a year later. The Company upgraded the Sandstone milling facilities in early 2005 to be able to process 600,000 tonnes per annum.[4]

In January 2009 it was announced that the Sandstone operation, which was to close in February that year, would remain active because of higher gold prices, which made processing low grade ore from Lord Nelson more profitable.[5] The mine is now scheduled to close in September 2010.[6]

Production

Production of the mine:

Year Production Grade Cost per ounce
1998[7] 34,330 ounces 2.39 g/t A$277
1999[7] 9,952 ounces 1.41 g/t A$365
1999-2000[8] 47,803 ounces 5.48 g/t A$157
2000-01[9] 58,299 ounces 4.46 g/t A$145
2001-02[9] 46,835 ounces 3.41 g/t A$219
2002-03[10] 42,895 ounces 3,29 g/t A$255
2003-04[10] 34,123 ounces 2.66 g/t A$415
2004-05[11] 19,148 ounces 1.26 g/t A$437
2005-06[12] 67,934 ounces 4.52 g/t A$241
2006-07 90,456 ounces 5.62 g/t A$322
2007-08 33,846 ounces 2.65 g/t A$706
2008-09 32,930 ounces 2.1 g/t A$602
2009-10[6] 29,885 ounces 2.1 g/t A$1,000

Sources
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References
  1. The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 530
  2. Sandstone The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 8 February 2004, accessed: 5 September 2009
  3. Troy website - Sandstone Archived 13 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 5 September 2009
  4. Troy website - Company history Archived 13 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine accessed: 5 September 2009
  5. Troy Resources defers closure of Sandstone gold mine industrysearch.com.au, published: 21 January 2009, accessed: 5 September 2009
  6. Troy quarterly report June 2010 published: 30 July 2010, accessed: 30 July 2010
  7. The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 125
  8. Troy quarterly report June 2000 accessed: 5 September 2009
  9. Troy quarterly report June 2002 accessed: 5 September 2009
  10. Troy quarterly report June 2004 accessed: 5 September 2009
  11. Troy quarterly report June 2006 accessed: 5 September 2009
  12. Troy 2006 annual report accessed: 5 September 2009
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