Mt Magnet was rocked by some of West Coast Fever’s stars last month as they were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of Ramelius Resources’ Mt Magnet gold mine, before hosting a free netball skills clinic for the local community earlier this month.
During the tour, Ramelius’ Managing Director Mark Zeptner explained how important it was for their operation to be part of the community and contribute positively to the township of Mt Magnet.
“The opportunity to bring in elite athletes who are role models for regional and local communities; I think that’s just a win-win. It has also increased awareness in the community about the gold industry,” explained Mr Zeptner.
West Coast Fever goal shooter Sasha Glasgow and 2020 West Coast Fever goalkeeper Olivia Lewis joined Netball WA Community Coach Charo Moore for an exclusive underground tour of the Shannon Pit with the Ramelius Mt Magnet team.
Fever players were taken to depths of 250m at the high-grade underground operation where they heard from Geology Superintendent Sam Hamilton along with Underground Manager Frank Pellicano about the subsurface rock formation and operations.
“I didn’t realise the full extent of the amount of people that are needed and required to operate a mine site. There’s so much work that goes on behind the scenes just to get the gold out,” said Ms Glasgow.
Highlights of the underground tour included experiencing the refuge chamber and getting a first-hand chance to spot real gold in the rocks.
Returning to the surface, Fever players visited the Eridanus Open Pit lookout. Drilling and project development work for Eridanus was conducted in 2018-19 with the Stage 2 open pit cutback currently underway.
After viewing the pits in the Cosmos Mine Area, and spotting a few wild goats across the operation, it was time to head north. The next stop-off was the Galaxy Mine area where the team visited the Checkers Processing Plant, a 1.9Mtpa conventional semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) gold mill. Fever players learnt about the milling at Mt Magnet from the processing team, which has previously been operated at 2.4Mtpa.
Managing Director Mark Zeptner, Communications Manager Claire Weeber and Receptionist Mikayla Gibney and Ramelius’ Mt Magnet Team, including General Manager Liz Jones, Open Pit Mining Manager Greg Rawlinson and Underground Manager Frank Pellicano did a great job of answering all the player’s burning questions during lunch.
In the afternoon, Fever players hosted a netball skills community clinic at Mt Magnet District School, with 30 students from years 2 to 5 in attendance. The students practised their passing and shooting skills and received some insightful tips from the Fever players.
“I didn’t realise how small Mount Magnet was. So, it was nice to be able to meet everyone and see that it’s a big kind-of-family out here,” Ms Glasgow concluded.
This is the fourth gold mine players have visited, with previous visits to Northern Star Resources’ Kanowna Bell and Super Pit, and Gold Fields’ St Ives in 2020 and early 2021.