Kalgoorlie’s Super Pit on Track to Reclaim its Crown

The Northern Star Resources‘ Super Pit is entering a new golden era. After years of investment and transformation, the iconic mine is close to completing a major expansion that will see it reclaim its crown as Australia’s biggest gold-producing mine.

Expansion Nearly Complete

At its peak in 2011, the Super Pit produced almost 800,000 ounces of gold in a single year. Now, Northern Star Resources is aiming even higher.

A three-year, $1.5 billion rebuild of the Fimiston Mill is almost finished, and once commissioned in 2026, production is forecast to reach 900,000 ounces annually by 2028–29. That would once again make the Super Pit the country’s top-producing gold mine.

The new Fimiston Mill will more than double processing capacity from 12 million tonnes a year to 27 million tonnes, enabling Northern Star Resources to draw on an enormous resource base, including 144 million tonnes of low-grade ore stockpiles containing an estimated $10 billion of gold.

The mine is also heading back underground, with seven new portals opened in the past year and geologists already discovering more than 1.2 million ounces of gold.

Together, these surface and underground resources set the stage for decades of strong, reliable production.

A mine so vast it can be seen from space, and still growing stronger with new investment.

Beyond 2050

The expansion has secured the mine’s future well into the second half of this century. As Northern Star COO Simon Jessop recently told the ABC:

“This mine will be going beyond 2050 … in 50 years’ time, KCGM will still be in operation.”

That assurance provides stability not just for the operation, but for the region that has grown alongside it since the Gold Rush of 1893.

What It Means for Kalgoorlie–Boulder

The Super Pit is far more than a mining project; it is the beating heart of the local economy.

Thousands of workers rely on it directly, and countless more benefit through contracting, supply chains, and service industries.

The long-term commitment to keep the mine operating into the 2050s and beyond provides a rare sense of certainty in a resources town — the confidence that jobs will be there for the next generation.

This stability flows well beyond the mine gates. It underpins local business confidence, encouraging investment in everything from retail and hospitality to housing and infrastructure.

It helps schools and training providers plan for the future, knowing that young people will continue to have opportunities in their hometown. It means community groups and sporting clubs can count on support from families and local employers.

For Kalgoorlie–Boulder, the reassurance that the Super Pit will remain one of the world’s great gold mines is not just about prosperity today. It’s about sustaining a vibrant, thriving regional community for decades to come.