Granny Smith Gold Mine


The Granny Smith Gold Mine is a gold mine south of Laverton, Western Australia near Mount Weld.
It is operated by Goldfields and, since the end of 2013, part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consists of Granny Smith, the Lawlers Gold Mine and the Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine.

History

The Granny Smith gold deposit was discovered in 1979 by Canadian prospector Ray Lovi Smith and named after his wife Laurende.
Construction of the mine took place in the late 1980s.
The project was originally owned by Delta Gold Ltd, which became Auriongold Ltd in February 2002. Aurion was taken over by Placer Dome Inc in 2003, who already held a 60% interest in the mine, and Placer Dome in turn by Barrick Gold in March 2006.
A large amount of ore processed at Granny Smith originated from the Wallaby deposit, approximately west of the mine, and was hauled to the Granny Smith mill for processing. Open pit mining at Wallaby ceased in September 2006, followed by a ramp up of underground mining at the location.
In February 2009, Barrick signed a Memorandum of understanding with Crescent Gold to purchase ore from their Laverton Gold Mine and mill it at Granny Smith. In January 2010, an agreement was signed with Range River Gold to purchase ore from the Mount Morgans Gold Mine and treat it at Granny Smith from February 2010 onwards.

Environment

In 1999, abandoned mining pits at Granny Smith were used for trials on breeding Silver Perch and Barramundi in salty water.

Production

Granny Smith

Production of the mine as an individual entity:
YearGold
production		GradeCost per ounce
1996312,262 ounces
1997376,386 ounces
1998604,806 ounces
1999523,092 ounces4.52 g/tA$161
2000412,049 ounces3.94 g/tA$340
2001347,179 ounces3.28 g/tA$338
2002358,648 ounces
2003307,341 ounces
2004293,228 ounces
2005278,806 ounces
2006314,000 ounces0.108 oz/tUS$ 401
2007175,000 ounces0.056 oz/tUS$651

Yilgarn South

Production figures for the Yilgarn South operation, consisting of Darlot, Granny Smith and Lawlers.
YearGold
production		Grade
oz/ton		Cost per ounce
2007410,000 ounces0.117486
2008325,000 ounces0.125749
2009352,000 ounces685