Darlot

The Darlot underground gold mine is located 58 kilometres east of Leinster and 120 kilometres north of Leonora in Western Australia. It is situated in the Eastern Goldfields Province in what is known as the Yandal Greenstone Belt. The mine, that is 90 minutes by plane from Perth, is worked as a fly-in-fly-out mining operation with personnel housed in camp accommodation whilst rostered on duty.

Darlot Mine has Been Productive for the Last 20 Years
The area around the Darlot gold mine has been associated with gold mining since the late 1800's, with the Darlot mine itself being in operation for more than 20 years as an open cut and as an underground mine. The Darlot area is one of the largest of the Yandal Greenstone Belt's mineralisation systems. The Darlot underground mine is part of a substantial tenement holding that Gold Fields is continually exploring in an effort to further increase the Darlot ore reserve along with the hope of discovering new deposits within the tenement area.

Darlot Treatment Plant Produces 80,000 Ounces of Gold Yearly
Gold bearing ore mined from the Darlot underground mining operation is treated at an 0.8 million tonnes a year gold treatment plant that produces around 80,000 ounces of gold annually. Ore is taken to the gold treatment plant by haulage trucks that travel to and from the mining operation, 800 metres below the surface, by means of two declines that have their portals located in the old historic open pit.

Darlot Mine Uses a Variety of Different Mining Methods
Mining activity underground is carried out by means of a conventional long hole open stoping method that takes place in the very large central areas of the Centenary ore body whereas narrow longhole stoping practices are used to mine the Thomson and Walters lodes. The flat lodes that are found in the Darlot deposit are mined by means of the room and pillar method. Paste filling is used when required.

Gold Fields Acquired Darlot Mine From Barrick Gold in 2013
Most of the mine workers at the Darlot underground mine are employed directly by the mine owner and operator, South African based gold mining company, Gold Fields, who purchased the operation from Barrick Gold in October, 2013, however, contractors are also employed at the mine to carry out more specialised work. The mine is currently producing about 50,000 tonnes of ore a month with development advancing at around 230 metres a month.

The Darlot mine gold treatment plant comprises a three stage crushing circuit that is capable of treating one million tonnes of ore a year. The grinding circuit comprises both primary and secondary ball mills that feeds the crushed ore into a gravity circuit and a conventional CIL (carbon-in- leach) circuit. The plant also comprises a hydrogen peroxide cyanide destruct circuit with the waste stored in two tailings storage facilities. The overall recovery from the treatment plant averages around 94 percent.

The on site Darlot mine camp accommodation facility includes a wet mess located near the camp dining room, a squash court, tennis-basketball court, gymnasium and swimming pool. The mine also provides emergency medical support, the identification and management of all health risks to workers and the enhancement of mine workers wellbeing through proactive involvement and education.
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