Australia’s biggest new gold mine, Gruyere, reached a major milestone over the weekend pouring its first gold bars.
Located east of Laverton in Western Australia, the Gruyere Gold Project is a joint venture between Gold Road Resources and Gold Fields, which is expected to operate for the next 12 years and create 350 full-time jobs.
Gold Road Managing Director and CEO, Duncan Gibbs, said this weekend’s gold pour was a major milestone given the Gold Road team discovered the world‐class Gruyere orebody less than six years ago.
“Gold Road now joins the ranks of ASX‐listed gold producers as owner of a 50% stake in the world‐class Gruyere gold mine.
"Our work is far from done – we remain committed to exploring the highly prospective Yamarna Greenstone Belt to unlock the potential through the discovery of more resource ounces for Gruyere and new discoveries that could be developed as stand‐alone gold mines.
"I want to thank the entire Gold Road team and our Gruyere JV partner, Gold Fields, for the safe and successful delivery of first gold at Gruyere,” Mr Gibbs said.
The three doré gold bars totalling an estimated 1139 ounces were produced from the Carbon‐in‐Leach and elution circuits. Commissioning of the less complex gravity circuit is in progress.
Gold Fields Executive Vice President, Stuart Mathews, said the pouring of the first gold at a global Tier 1 gold mine like Gruyere is a significant achievement.
“Gruyere is a tremendous asset based on a world‐class orebody with a forecast long mine life.
"The Gruyere JV’s focus now shifts to the safe and successful ramp‐up to nameplate capacity to allow us to deliver full value to all stakeholders. I would like to acknowledge the outstanding safety performance of the construction team which achieved three million construction hours without a lost time injury,” Mr Mathew said.
With the delivery of first gold bars, the focus now turns to commissioning of the final components of the process plant, in particular the ball mill, which is anticipated to be completed early in the September 2019 quarter.
Commissioning of the gravity gold recovery circuit is in progress and follows re-installation of pipe work required for the safe operation of the circuit. Gold production will continue until the ball mill is fully operational and is integrated into the circuit.
The Gruyere JV anticipates gold production for calendar 2019 to be between 75,000 to 100,000 ounces. Life‐of‐mine average annual production is forecast at approximately 300,000 ounces per annum at average All‐In Sustaining Costs over a 12‐year life of approximately $1,025 per ounce.