Countess coolgardie

The Tyndals Underground Mining Centre, owned by Focus Minerals, of which the Countess-Coolgardie gold mine is a component, is situated near the Western Australian gold mining town of Coolgardie, 35 kilometres west of Kalgoorlie.

Countess-Coolgardie is Part of the Wider Tindals Underground Mining Centre

The Countess-Coolgardie gold deposit is one of four other gold deposits that make up the one underground operation at the Tindals Mining Centre, the other ore deposits being; Empress, Perseverance, Cyanide and Tindals. The gold endowment at the mine equals 2,500 ounces for every vetical metre with a reserve of one million tonnes grading at 3.6 grams per tonne. This will return 115,000 ounces. It also has a resource of 3.16 million tonnes grading at 4.4 grams a tonne that relates to 444,000 ounces. The current production rate is 45,000 tonnes of ore a month grading at 3.5 grams of gold a tonne. This is estimated by the company to give it a current life of five more years, although it should be remembered that the present working are still relatively shallow being no more than 400 metres deep.

The one Portal Services Four Declines at the Tindals Underground Mining Centre

There is only the one portal giving access to the five gold deposits at the Tindals underground operation at Coolgardie, this is from the bottom of the former Cyanide open pit that had absorbed all the other open pits through active excavation during the 1990's. In the time that has passed since the original two declines leading underground from the cyanide portal were used to carry the underground ore to the surface, there are now four separate declines, each accessing a certain orebody. Only three of these declines are currently active, these are the declines leading to the Cyanide, Perseverance and Empress ore bodies. The Empress decline provides access to the Countess and Tindals Deeps ore bodies. The decline is five metres wide by five metres high closer to the surface and five metres wide by 5.5 metres high at the lower depths.

Barminco was the Tindals Underground Mining Centre Development Contractor

Development of the underground mine to access the Countess-Coolgardie deposit alongside all the other deposits that make up the Tindals Underground Mining Centre operations was carried out by mining contractor Barminco. The mine is operated in the traditional manner that involves top-down sub level long hole open stoping without using fill. Level intervals are mainly about 20 or 23 metres.

Ore From the Countess-Coolgardie Deposit is Processed at the Three Mile Hill Plant

The gold bearing ore excavated from the Countess-Coolgardie deposit is treated at the company's Three Mile Hill Processing Plant located five kilometres to its north. The plant was recommissioned in 2009 by Focus Minerals following a $22 million upgrade and has a capacity of handling 1.2 million tonnes a year, although it is currently handling 1.3 million tonnes annually.

Shandong Gold International is Focus Minerals Major Shareholder

Focus Minerals major shareholder is Shandong Gold International, the fourth largest gold producer in China that is based in the Shandong Province. It has recently invested a major cash placement into Focus Minerals that will be put to further expanding the Tindals Mining Centre
and the increasing of the capacity of the Three Mile Hill Gold Treatment Plant.