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Australia

Mt Charlotte Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeUnderground
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Sub-level caving
  • Longhole open stoping
  • Avoca
Backfill type ... Lock
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SnapshotThe Mt Charlotte underground mine is a part of the KCGM Operation.

The Fimiston processing plant currently treats ore from Fimiston and Mt Charlotte. In June 2023, Northern Star approved an expansion to increase mill capacity to 27Mtpa, becoming one of the largest milling complexes in Australia. A new brownfield Fimiston Processing Plant is currently under construction.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Northern Star Resources Ltd. 100 % Indirect
Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd. (operator) 100 % Direct
Mt Charlotte is operated by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern Star Resources Ltd.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork
  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

The stratigraphy covered by the KCGM tenements consists of a basal ultramafic unit called the Hannan Lake Serpentinite. This ultramafic unit is overlain successively by the high magnesian Devon Consols Basalt, Kapai Slate, tholeiitic Paringa Basalt and the Black Flag Group sediments. Differentiated zones of dolerite and gabbro texture occur within the mafic sequence. The Golden Mile Dolerite, hosting the bulk of the Golden Mile and Mount Charlotte gold mineralisation, is a strongly differentiated layered gabbro, approximately 700m in thickness. The Golden Mile Dolerite is situated conformably between the Paringa Basalt and the Black Flag Group sediments. This entire stratigraphic sequence is intruded by numerous porphyry dykes of intermediate to felsic composition.

The Mt Charlotte style gold mineralisation is hosted within the Golden Mile Dolerite and is predominantly associated with pyrite in carbonate alteration haloes around quartz veins, with a minor proportion as relatively coarse free gold within the veins, commonly close to their margins. The veins vary in width from a few millimetres to a maximum of about two metres but are commonly between two centimetres and 50 cm wide. The vein spacing varies from 20 cm to tens of metres but is typically from 50 cm to two metres in areas mined as ore. Quartz is the dominant vein-fill mineral; accessory vein minerals include calcite, ankerite, scheelite, pyrite, pyrrhotite, and gold.

The Hidden Secret style gold mineralisation is hosted within the Williamstown Dolerite at the contact with the Kapai Slate and Devon Consols Basalt and spatially associated with a porphyritic intrusion and the Towns Fault. Gold is hosted in deformed a quartz vein 2-20cm wide. Vein minerals include pyrite, telluride, silica, carbonate and fuchsite.

Fairplay is hosted dominantly within the Williamstown Dolerite and Paringa Basalt and is spatially associated with the Acre Fault. Thin shear and stockwork veins contain quartz, pyrite, telluride, carbonate, fuchsite, roscoelite, and gold. Lode style orebodies at Mt Ferrum are considered Fimiston-style gold, and consist of shear zones with fine disseminated pyrite, quartz carbonate veins and broad breccia zones.

Kal East is a narrow, high-grade Fimiston-style lode lying 250m to the east of existing infrastructure at the Mt Charlotte mine. Infill resource definition drilling has identified more complexity than expected, defining a series of hangingwall and footwall structures. Mineralisation is hosted primarily within Williamstown Dolerite and the highest grade is constrained within a steeply dipping southerly plunging shoot. Internal zones within the Williamstown Dolerite are important in controlling the distribution of gold.

Belgravia is a series of mineralised lodes lying 100m north of existing infrastructure at the Mt Charlotte mine. Mineralisation is hosted within pillowed and variolitic Devon Consols Basalt in proximity to the Hannans Lake Serpentinite, the contact of which is intruded by felsic porphyritic rocks. Infill resource definition drilling has identified eight separate NNW- striking lodes with en échelon geometry. The lodes are overprinted by stockwork mineralisation, with veins dipping to the north similar to the Mt Charlotte-style stockwork orientations.

Dimensions
The Mt Charlotte Project covers an area of 2.6km N-S x 2km E-W x 1.7km Vertical. Within the project area on a deposit scale the project can be broken into.

Mt Ferrum (600mN x 600mE x 600mZ) which is a combination of Fimiston style subvertical lodes within the Paringa Basalt and Charlotte style stockworks within and on the contacts of the Williamstown Dolerite.

Hidden Secret/Belgravia (700mN x 300mE x 600mZ) is a moderately west dipping, south plunging lode style orebody with overprinting stockwork style mineralisation associated with the Little Wonder deposit within the Dev Consuls Basalt.

Kal East (600mN x 300mE x 400mZ) is a Fimiston style lode deposit hosted within the Williamstown dolerite overprinted by stockwork style mineralisation.

Mt Charlotte Mine (1.2kmN x 300mE x 1.7kmZ) is a subvertical north plunging stockwork style deposit hosted within the Golden Mile Dolerite U8 layer. Mineralisation is bound to the north by the Charlotte fault and south by the Lord Nelson fault.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

2020 production numbers reflect production for seven months period from December 2019 to June 2020. Saracen acquired 50% stake in the KCGM JV in late of November 2019.
CommodityUnits20242023202220212020
Gold oz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
All production numbers are expressed as metal in ore.

Operational metrics

Metrics202420232022202120202019201820172016
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe1,016 kt904 kt1,042 kt1,006 kt

Production Costs

Commodity production costs have not been reported.

Operating Costs

Currency2019201820172016
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Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

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Aerial view:

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