Henty Gold Mine

The Henty Gold Mine is located at the head of the Henty River on the edge of the West Coast Range in Western Tasmania. It is approximately 30 km north of Queenstown. It is east of Zeehan and south of Rosebery. It can be reached by the Hydro-built road that passes between the Henty River and Tullah.

Henty
Location
Henty Gold Mine is located in Tasmania
Henty Gold Mine
Henty Gold Mine
Location in Tasmania
LocationHenty River
StateTasmania
CountryAustralia
Coordinates41°52′28″S 145°33′04″E
Production
Production43,178
Financial year2009–10
History
Opened1996
Owner
CompanyUnity Mining Pty Ltd
WebsiteDiversified Minerals website
Year of acquisitionJuly 2009

History

Operations began in the 1990s. Its orebody and viability was ascertained from earlier exploration in the area during the 1970s when the priority was for other forms of mineralization within the Mount Read Volcanic Belt.

Henty lies within the mineral rich Mt. Read Volcanic Belt in Western Tasmania that hosts the Hellyer, Que River, Rosebery, Hercules and Mount Lyell base metal deposits. The eastern side of the belt is dominated by the Henty Fault which runs north-east for over 60 kilometres between Mount Charter and Mount Read. The Henty operation is based on a series of structurally complex high-grade zones of gold mineralisation that occur within a package of highly altered volcanic rock adjacent to the Henty Fault.[1]

The Henty Gold Mine was operated by Barrick Gold – currently the largest gold producing company in the world, which acquired the mine through the takeover of Placer Dome in 2006.[2] The Henty mine was expected to close on or before November 2009, with subsequent rehabilitation, due to depletion of ore reserves.

Henty Gold was acquired by Bendigo Mining mid-2009. Bendigo specialise in small scale operations and expect to extend the mine's life and also own the Kangaroo Flat Mine at Bendigo.[3] The mine continued to operate under Bendigo, producing 43,178 ounces of gold in the 2009–10 financial year, after investing A$3.8 million into mining equipment for the mine.[4] At stages of the mine's history, environmental monitoring studies were conducted on adjacent waterways.[5][6][7]

The Henty Gold Mine has produced about 1.3 million ounces of gold over a 16-year mine life.

Death of mine worker

On 23 January 2020 a mine worker was missing underground following a fall of ground at the mine.[8] By the next day, it was reported as unlikely that he could have survived due to the amount of rock which had fallen. The mine was still unstable so only drones had been able to explore the rockfall.[9] On 25 January, mining services company Pybar Mining Services stated "following a site visit yesterday afternoon by the Tasmanian State Coroner and Tasmanian Police, it is with sadness that we acknowledge that the most likely outcome of our missing work colleague is that he is deceased."[10] Police also confirmed the presumed death of 44-year-old Cameron John Goss in a statement released to media.[11][12]

Production

Past production figures of the mine were:

Year Production Grade Cost per ounce
2000[2] 97,332 ounces 16.47 g/t A$ 236
2001[2] 76,418 ounces 12.50 g/t A$321
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008 decreased by 280 kg[13]
2009
2009–10 43,178 ounces 5.2 g/t $890/oz
2010-11 35,728 ounces 4.7 g/t $1105/oz inclusive of royalties
2011-12 50,058 ounces 5.6 g/t $982/oz inclusive of royalties
2012-13 43,851 ounces 5.3 g/t $1114/oz inclusive of royalties
2013-14 38,067 ounces 5.3 g/t $1203/oz, including royalties of $39/oz
2014-15 50,450 ounces 6.27 g/t $870/oz, including royalties of $69/oz
2016–17
2017–18 26,191 ounces[14]
2017–18 est. 5.7 g/t

See also

References
  1. "Unity Mining: Henty Gold Mine – Description". Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
  2. The Australian Mines Handbook – 2003–04 Edition page: 172
  3. "Bendigo Mining". Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
  4. "FY10 gold production of 79,827 ounces" (PDF). Bmnl.com.au. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  5. Davies, PE; Cook, LSJ; Sloane, T (2009), Biomonitoring of streams associated with Henty Gold Mine 2009 [Report to Henty Gold Mine, Bendigo Mining Limited], Freshwater Systems, retrieved 24 January 2020
  6. Davies, PE; Cook, LSJ; Sloane, T (2010), Biomonitoring of streams associated with Henty Gold Mine 2010 [Report to Henty Gold Mine, Bendigo Mining Limited], Freshwater Systems, retrieved 24 January 2020
  7. Davies, PE; Cook, LSJ (January 2012), Biomonitoring of streams associated with Henty Gold Mine, 2012 [Report to Henty Gold Mine, Unity Mining Limited], Freshwater Systems, retrieved 24 January 2020
  8. Editor, Mining (23 January 2020). "Mine worker missing at Henty Gold mine". Australasian Mine Safety Journal. Retrieved 23 January 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. "Police say 'it can only be concluded' the missing worker 'died' in Henty Gold Mine". ABC News. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  10. Editor, Mining (25 January 2020). "Pybar mining confirms 'worst fears' for trapped miner | Mine Safety News". Australasian Mine Safety Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  11. "Henty Gold Mine search – Updated @ 4.00pm 24 Jan 2020". Tasmania Police. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  12. Editor, Mining (25 January 2020). "Police release name of miner trapped in Henty Gold mine | Mine Safety". Australasian Mine Safety Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. Minerals Yearbook, 2008, V. 1, Metals and Minerals
  14. "During the reporting period 26,191 ounces of gold were produced" (PDF). divminerals.com.au. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
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