Ok decline

Opened in 2010, OK Decline is the third decline of the Norseman Gold Mine, which focuses solely on gold mining, and has been mining gold continuously for over 70 years.

The OK Decline mine had a rocky beginning, because on August 5, 2010, after only a few months of operation, a miner was found dead in the mine. Production at OK Decline was stopped immediately, resuming later the same month. In a parliamentary question time, it was explained that the man died while removing steel ladders from the exit tunnel between the seventh and eighth levels of the mine. In doing so, he fell 12 metres to the level below, which resulted in his death. Since the mineís reopening there have been no further tragic incidents.

Mining at the Norseman Mine is primarily underground, and includes a range of methods that are used concurrently, such as air leg stoping, mechanised room and pillar stoping, and long-hole open stoping. Production extends to 400 metres beneath the ground. The gold is mined from quartz veins held by surrounding rocks.

The gold ore mined at OK Decline is taken to the Phoenix treatment plant for processing. The success rate of gold recovery has averaged 96 to 97 per cent over the companyís 70 years of production.

The owners of the mine, Norseman Gold Plc, have said that the area also holds magnetite ore that may be mined in the future. The Norseman mine covers 2,360 square kilometres of land in the Norseman-Wiluna greenstone belt that lies in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. These fields lie 725 kilometres directly east of Perth and are 186 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie, positioned directly between Kalgoorlie and the coast. Gold was first found in the area in 1894, and over its lifetime the mine has produced more than 5.5 million ounces of gold.rnThe company prefers to house its workers in its residential facilities, and fully subsidises housing and utilities. It negotiates Drive-In-Drive-Out arrangements with workers from Kalgoorlie and Esperance, and also considers Fly-In-Fly-Out for workers who wish to be based in Perth.

The Norseman Mine and its declines produced 80,000 ounces of gold each year during in the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 financial years, and at the time the company was positive about its continued growth.

As of 2010 when OK Decline was first opened, it boosted the position of the Norseman Project, and the company saw its third consecutive annual increase in its reserves. In 2009, the company was optimistic about its plans to open OK Decline, and its pre-feasibility study found a resource potential of 122,000 ounces of gold in OK Decline. These reserves were expected to support the mining operation for at least two years initially, and were expected to produce 360,000 tonnes of ore with five grams of gold per ton. The company planned to extend the lifetime of the mine with further drilling projects.

However, in early 2012, two years after the mine opened, Norseman gold was forced to put OK Decline and another decline, Bullen, onto special administrative management in the hope of protecting the future of the Norseman Project. Norseman Gold had previously been underwritten for $25 million by its manager and major shareholder, Tulla Resources. As of August 2012, the company was discussing further investment from the Hong Kong based Zhaojin Mining Industry Co.

In October 2012, Norseman Gold shut its last open mine, and entered into voluntary administration. The closing of the North Royal pit saw 31 jobs lost, however the mine continues to process ore on site and tailings from other projects, and so continues to provide 105 jobs.

The company stated that the reason for the voluntary administration was its inability to produce enough cash flow to keep up with credit payments.