Frogs leg

The Frog's Leg gold mine in the Kalgoorlie Goldfields in Western Australia is continually subjected to rumour regarding majority ownership as both major shareholders have only one percent difference between them. The majority shareholder, in the Mungari East Joint Venture, is Egyptian owned La Mancha Resources with a 51 percent holding and Alacer Gold Corporation close behind with 49 percent. La Mancha is also the Frog's Leg mine operator. Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawaris acquired La Mancha Resources in July 2012 for $500 million Canadian in cash. Alacer Gold Corporation was formed in 2011 as a result of a merger between two other mining companies, Avoca Resources and Anatolia Minerals.

Mining Started at Frog's Leg in 2004
The Frog's Leg gold mine was originally an open pit operation that began production in April 2004 with the first gold being poured three months later in July 2004. A feasibility study into the economic viability of mining underground was completed in December 2007 and the first gold poured from ore mined underground occurred in May 2008.

Alacer Process Their Share of Mined Ore at the Jubilee Processing Plant
Alacer have their share of the ore mined at the Frog's Leg mine (49 percent) carted by truck to their own South Kalgoorlie mill, the Jubilee Processing Plant that process the ore in the conventional method via crushing, grinding, leach treatment and exposure to a CIP (carbon-in-pulp) circuit. In 2012 Alacia's share of production amounted to 53,640 ounces of gold.

Strong Exploration Reports and two Major Upgrades Extend Life of Mine
The Frog's Leg gold ore deposit has consistently returned strong exploration reports and as a result the mine has received two major upgrades, this has helped keep the mine life above five years ever since underground mining started at the site. La Mancha Resources send their share of the mined ore to be toll milled, the crushing and grinding into small particles. They are however planning on building their own mill on site if the gold price remains steady. In 2012 La Mancha's share of the gold extracted from the Frog's Leg mine totalled 65,000 ounces.

Partners not Always in Agreement at Frog's Leg Mine
Frog's Leg mining partners are not always happy with each others performance at the mine as in July 2011 silent partner, Alacer, complained to the Western Australian Mines Department about La Mancha, the mine operator, claiming it was not spending enough money on maintenance at the mine, therefore creating safety issues for workers. The department ordered both partners to cooperate fully during a subsequent investigation. Alacer claimed their concerns was about La Mancha allowing development work to run too far ahead of the mining operation itself. They claimed this could lead to unnecessary ground stresses. Alacia claimed that if this practice was not stopped a rock failure could occur putting people and equipment at risk.

Mining to Continue to at Least 2019
In March 2012 Alacer reported that its 49 percent share of the joint venture with La Mancha had increased by 102,000 ounces to a total of 385,000 ounces of gold, giving it a total increase of 36 percent in known reserves. This meant the life of the mine could be extended to 2019 and mining could be developed to 600 metre below the surface.