The Boddington Gold Mine - about 130km south-east of Perth in Western Australia is the largest undeveloped gold mine in the region, it is gearing to be the highest producing gold mine once operations ramp up and as mining equipment are purchased over the next few years.
The $2.4bn project was initially a tripartite venture between Newmont Mining, AngloGold Ashanti and Newcrest Mining. In 2006 Newmont bought Newcrest’s 22.22% share, bringing its interest to 66.67% and ending any Australian ownership. AngloGold owns the remaining 33.33%.
Sources say that recent exploration has identified an extensive 19.57Moz of gold bedrock resource, which was the basis of the Boddington Gold Mine Expansion Project. Approved last 2006, the project will involve extracting the hard gold/copper ore that lies beneath depleted oxide pits at Boddington’s original mine site.
The project has an attributable capital budget of between A$0.8bn and A$0.9bn. At year-end, the overall project was approximately 65% complete, with engineering and procurement of mining equipment underway. Construction of the treatment plant was approximately 32% complete. At its peak the project is expected to employ some 2,000 workers. Once operation begins it is expected that around 650 full-time staff will be required.
The $2.4bn project was initially a tripartite venture between Newmont Mining, AngloGold Ashanti and Newcrest Mining. In 2006 Newmont bought Newcrest’s 22.22% share, bringing its interest to 66.67% and ending any Australian ownership. AngloGold owns the remaining 33.33%.
Sources say that recent exploration has identified an extensive 19.57Moz of gold bedrock resource, which was the basis of the Boddington Gold Mine Expansion Project. Approved last 2006, the project will involve extracting the hard gold/copper ore that lies beneath depleted oxide pits at Boddington’s original mine site.
The project has an attributable capital budget of between A$0.8bn and A$0.9bn. At year-end, the overall project was approximately 65% complete, with engineering and procurement of mining equipment underway. Construction of the treatment plant was approximately 32% complete. At its peak the project is expected to employ some 2,000 workers. Once operation begins it is expected that around 650 full-time staff will be required.
