| White Foil | |||||||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Label: | White Foil Gold Mine | ||||||||||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Coordinates: | -30.7736°N 121.2506°W | ||||||||||
| Place: | Kalgoorlie | ||||||||||
| Subdivision Type: | State | ||||||||||
| State/Province: | Western Australia | ||||||||||
| Country: | Australia | ||||||||||
| Acquisition Year: | 2015 | ||||||||||
| Products: | Gold | ||||||||||
| Financial Year: | 2022–23 | ||||||||||
| Amount: | 135,592 ounces | ||||||||||
| Opening Year: | 2004 | ||||||||||
| Module: |
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The White Foil Gold Mine is a gold mine 23 km south-west of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, owned and operated by Australian company Evolution Mining Limited,[1] who purchased the mine in 2015.
The White Foil deposit was discovered in 1996.[2]
The mine, then own jointly by Mines and Resources Australia (51%) and AurionGold Limited (49%), started operations in February 2002. Ore was treated at the Paddington Gold Mine, which, at the time, was owned by AurionGold,[3] and the first gold pour took place in August 2002.
The mine was placed in care and maintenance in August 2003, after excessive flow of saline water into the open pit.[4]
AurionGold was taken over by Placer Dome Limited in January 2003.[5] [6] Placer Dome in turn was taken over by Barrick Gold in March 2006.[7]
In September 2006, La Mancha Resources announced the takeover of Mines and Resources Australia, a subsidiary of the French company Areva,[8] and thereby the White Foil mine.[9] The company dewatered the flooded pit in 2007 and 2008.
On 27 January 2010, La Mancha announced that ore from White Foil would be toll-treated at the new Three Mile Hill treatment plant at the Coolgardie Gold Mine, owned by Focus Minerals.[10] Mining at White Foil was to resume in March 2010. Open pit operations at the mine restarted in 2014.[11]
In April 2015, Evolution Mining completed the buy-out of La Mancha Resources Australian operations, valued at A$300 million, and thereby acquired the Frog's Leg and White Foil gold mines as well as the nearby processing plant at the Mungari.[12] Ownership of the mines was eventually transferred on 24 August 2015.
Mining at Frog's Leg is carried out in an underground operation while White Foil is an open pit operation, with the ore processed at the Mungari plant, which was constructed in 2013–14.[13]
Production figures of the mine:
| Year | Gold production | Grade | Cost per ounce | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 120,000 ounces | |||
| 2004–2007 | inactive | |||
| 2008 | 1,910 ounces | |||
| 2009 | inactive | |||
Production figures under Evolution Mining ownership:[13] [14] [15] [16] [17]
| Year | Production | Grade | Cost per ounce | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | 137,193 ounces | A$1,024 | ||
| 2016–17 | 143,820 ounces | A$1,143 | ||
| 2017–18 | 118,498 ounces | A$1,181 | ||
| 2018–19 | 120,535 ounces | A$1,320 | ||
| 2019–20 | 133,388 ounces | A$1,215 | ||
| 2020–21 | 115,829 ounces | A$1,453 | ||
| 2021–22 | 138,035 ounces | A$1,931 | ||
| 2022–23 | 135,592 ounces | A$2,083 |