St Ives lies within the Kambalda domain, a subset of the Norseman-Wiluna Belt. The Kambalda domain is bound by the north-northwest trending Boulder-Lefroy fault (BLF) and Zuleika shear. The region has undergone four compressional events predated by early extension, and has been metamorphosed to upper greenschist or lower amphibolite facies.

The main structural feature of the St Ives area is the gently south-plunging Kambalda anticline, which extends 35km from the south end of the Kambalda dome to the Junction mine. The majority of known gold deposits are proximal to the trace of the anticlinal axis. A major second order structure known as the Playa shear splays off the BLF shear zone and can be traced through the St Ives field for a distance in excess of 10km.

There are several styles of gold mineralisation at St Ives. Individual deposits may contain more than one of these styles:

• Lode mineralisation: Archaean lode mineralisation typically consisting of 0.5m to 20m wide mesothermal vein complexes that may also have hydraulic breccias and/or mylonites. Mineralisation is typically discontinuous with short range predictability
• Supergene mineralisation: Broad zones of flat-lying gold mineralisation in weathered Archaean and overlying tertiary sediments
• Palaeoplacer mineralisation: Placer deposits hosted by palaeochannels in the unconsolidated tertiary sediments that overlie the Archaean basement.

St Ives has four underground mine areas and 12 open pits contributing to the Mineral Reserve. There are nine underground mines and 20 open pits contributing to the Mineral Resource. Current ore stockpiles represent less than 5.5% of the total Reserve.

At St Ives, Invincible Underground, Hamlet Underground and the Neptune open pit are now the main sources of ore.

The undergrounds are accessed via a decline. Mining contractors deploy long-hole stoping and paste/rock fill. Current underground mines are relatively shallow and configured to mitigate geotechnical seismic risk through mine design, scheduling and defined ground support regimes.

Open pits are mined using conventional drill and blast with truck and shovel. Surface mining operations are conducted using an owner-operator mining fleet.

Ore from both open pit and underground operations is transported with road trains from individual mining operations to the central St Ives processing RoM pad.

St Ives has the following Tailing Storage Facilities:
-TSF 1 has a low ANCOLD consequence rating, was decommissioned and is being used for tailings reclamation for underground paste backfill material, using excavators, loaders and trucks.

-TSF 2 has a low ANCOLD consequence rating, was filled to the final design height and decommissioned.

-TSF 3 has a low ANCOLD consequence rating and was decommissioned in 2016.

-TSF 4 is a paddock-type facility with a current maximum embankment height of ~14.5m. The facility is inactive and has a high C ANCOLD consequence rating. The North Orchin in-pit TSF has a low ANCOLD consequence rating, reached its storage capacity and was decommissioned in 2015.

-The Leviathan in-pit TSF was commissioned early 2017 and is currently active with a low ANCOLD consequence rating. The current remaining LoM storage capacity is ~31Mt.

Ives plant consists of a primary gyratory crusher, followed by a single-stage SAG mill (with pebble crusher).

The mine utilises a metallurgical CIP plant with a 4.7Mtpa name plate throughput capacity.
The lefroy Mill consists of:
? Gravity Circuit
- 2 Falcon concentrators, 2 Jigs, regrind mill and ILR reactor.
? Leach
- 5 conventional leach tanks
? CIP Circuit
- 6 Stage Carousel Pump Cell arrangement
? AARL Elution Circuit
? Electro winning
- 5 electro- winning cells (1x dedicated to gravity)

A gravity circuit recovers the gravity-recoverable gold from the milling circuit and the concentrate is treated separately through to bullion form. The mill cyclone overflow product flows to a five-stage leach circuit consisting of mechanical agitators, reagent addition and oxygen sparging. Leached slurry passes through the six-stage carousel pump cell adsorption plant and subsequent five-tonne-capacity acid wash, elution and electrowinning circuits which produce calcine ready for smelting. Bullion is shipped to the refinery.[TSFR 2012 p.10]