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Australia

Ravenswood Mine

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Overview

Mine TypeOpen Pit
StatusActive
Commodities
  • Gold
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
  • Open stoping
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SnapshotRavenswood Gold is the largest gold mining operation in Queensland.

April 17, 2023 - the Ravenswood mine completed a $350 million expansion at the site. The mine is set to produce over 200,000 ounces of gold a year.

In 2021, the gold mine was touted as the supplier of gold for the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic medals in 2032.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
EMR Capital Group 50 % Indirect
Golden Energy and Resources Ltd. (GEAR) 50 % Indirect
Ravenswood Gold is jointly owned by EMR Capital (50%) (EMR) and Golden Energy and Resources (50%) (GEAR) through Ravenswood Gold Group Pty Ltd and Ravenswood Gold Holdings Pty Ltd.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Breccia pipe / Stockwork
  • Footwall hosted
  • Vein / narrow vein

Summary:

Mineralisation occurs in variably orientated tabular sulphide – quartz veins and mineralised shear zones and in numerous vein stock works. Areas of weak veining separate the more strongly stock-worked areas into discrete zones. Individual veins can vary in width from hairline fractures up to one metre locally. Mineralisation extends from the topographic surface and has been confirmed to extend at depth in deep drilling. The mineralisation remains open at depth.

The Jessop Creek Tonalite, an Early to Middle Devonian age unit of the Ravenswood Batholith, hosts the mineralisation. In the project area the Jessop Creel Tonalite can be divided into diorite, quartz diorite and minor gabbro. Boundaries between these units vary from sharp to indistinct and often show complex relationships including stoping xenoliths and irregular dykes. No association between the host lithology and the gold mineralisation has been established other than it is a suitable competent host that allowed the cross cutting sulphide veins to develop.

Buck Reef West / Sarsfield-Nolans Deposit lies within the northern part of the Thomson fold belt which forms part of the Charters Towers province, in a tight cluster of calc-alkaline intrusives of Ordovician to Devonian age known as the Ravenswood Batholiths. Individual intrusive compositions vary from adamellite to diorite: - granite and granodiorite are the most common.

The Buck Reef West / Sarsfield gold deposit is located within and around the junction of three prominent fault systems. At each deposit weathered zone persists to an average of 15 metres below surface. Supergene effects are restricted to a discontinuous horizon within a partially oxidised zone less than 5 metres thick. At least 95% of gold is located within a network of flatly dipping sulphide-quartz veins. Movement on the faults has controlled dilation within the veins, and at least 17 different structural movements and alteration events have reactivated the vein. Veins (20mm to 250mm thick) are typically associated with a phyllic alteration selvedge up to 500mm wide. Vein mineralogy is sulphide dominant with quartz and calcite constituting the major gangue phases. Total sulphide content of the ore is less than 5% with the most common phases being pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite and chalcopyrite. Gold occurs as mostly sub 50 micron free milling grains on fractures and sulphide mineral boundaries.

Geologically, the Buck Reef West and Sarsfield-Nolans resource modelling was divided into several domains based on geological structures/ lithologies and gold distribution. The Buck Reef West domain interpretation comprises a broad, moderately dipping envelope with a locally developed higher grade footwall zone which is cross cut y two sub-vertical north-northeast trending, commonly higher grade zones. They are named; Background, Main envelope – lower grade zone, Main envelope – higher grade footwall zone, Eastern vertical zone and Western vertical zone. The Sarsfield–Nolans area mineralised domains comprise a main moderately northerly dipping envelope representing the general Sarsfield-Nolans trend, and several variably oriented and cross-cutting zones in the Sarsfield area. They are named; East background, Main envelope, Bell zone, Keel zone, Buck Reef trend and West background.

The Sarsfield deposit outcrop over a 900 by 900 metre area with mineral resources defined to a depth of approximately 650 metres below pre-mining land surface. The Nolans deposit extends in an eastward direction from the Sarsfield deposit for 1.7 kilometres with mineral resources estimated to a depth of 330 metres below pre-mining land surface. The Buck Reef deposit is centred 500 metres south west of Sarsfield deposit and outcrops over an area of 500 by 800 with mineral resources defined to a depth of approximately 600 metres.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

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Processing

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Production

CommodityUnits202120202019201820172016
Gold koz  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe549092106
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.

Operational metrics

Metrics20242022202120202019201820172016
Annual production capacity  ....  Subscribe
Annual milling capacity  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2.8 Mt2.8 Mt
Ore tonnes mined  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe290,437 t2.46 Mt2.37 Mt1.31 Mt
Tonnes milled  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe2,699,285 t2.45 Mt2 Mt1.7 Mt
^ Guidance / Forecast.

Production Costs

Commodity20212020201920182017
Credits (by-product) Gold -10 / oz  AUD -9 / oz  AUD
Cash costs Gold 1,209 / oz  USD 1,019 / oz  USD 943 / oz  USD
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) Gold 1,356 / oz **  USD 1,071 / oz **  USD 1,059 / oz **  USD
** Net of By-Product.

Financials

Units20222021201920182017
Capital expenditures M  ....  Subscribe  ....  Subscribe 21.2  AUD 13.8  AUD
Revenue M 114  AUD 138.5  AUD 158  AUD
After-tax Income M 9.9  AUD 15.2  AUD
EBITDA M 11.7  AUD 24  AUD

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 26, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 26, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 26, 2024
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Sep 26, 2024

EmployeesContractorsTotal WorkforceYear
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2023
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2022
...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required ...... Subscription required 2021
...... Subscription required 2020

Aerial view:

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