The Ravenswood underground gold mine is situated in north east Queensland, 65 kilometres east of Charters Towers and 95 kilometres south west of Townsville. It is owned by Carpentaria Gold Pty Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Resolute Mining Limited.
Ravenswood Processing Plant used to Process ore From Other Sources
The Ravenswood mine ore processing plant has been re-configured and optimised to allow it to process up to 1.5 million tonnes of gold bearing ore a year. High grade ore is sourced from underground at the adjacent Mount Wright mine. A lower grade ore that is also processed at the Ravenswood gold processing plant is sourced from gold bearing remnant ore stockpiled at the nearby Nolan mine. The gold processing plant at the Ravenswood mine uses a single stage ore crushing procedure as well as a SAG, ball mill and CIL (carbon-in-leach) process that also incorporates a gravity circuit to recovers free gold.
The cost to produce an ounce of gold with the use of the Ravenswood mine processing plant is low by industry standards, being only around $760. The increase in production and higher grade is attributable to the ore sourced from the Mount Wright operation.
Macmahon Awarded Contract For Raisedrilling at Mount Wright Mine
Carpentaria Gold has recently awarded a $2.9 million contract to Mining contractor, Macmahon, to provide raise drilling services at the Mount Wright mine. Macmahon has undertaken the building of two fresh air raisers, one being constructed on the surface and the other underground at the Mount Wright mining site. The primary ventilation system at Mount Wright has now been upgraded as has the surface waste pass.
Ravenswood Processing Plant is Highly Optimised
The Ravenswood gold processing plant is to continue treating the ore sourced from the Mount Wright mining operation into the foreseeable future with production boosted from time to time with ad hoc treatment of outside low grade ores from other sources. The plant is now highly optimised with future improvement being undertaken on a continuous basis. It is expected that ore from Mount Wright will continue being produced at similar levels as presently occurring. Mount Wright is regarded as being a highly productive and efficient mining operation with Carpentaria Gold continuing to emphasis the importance of maintenance and improvements to its ongoing operation as its mining operation deepens. The increasing depth required, along with a lower grade of ore, is expected increase cash costs per ounce into the future.
Ravenswood Plant to Process Sarsfield Open Pit Ore
Resolute Mining Limited is proposing to expand open-pit mining of gold with the re-commencement of operations at the Sarsfield open pit as well as extending the pit floor at the Nolans mine at Ravenswood. This work includes the removal of overburden, drilling and blasting or the ore and its removal with the use of a shovel and trucks. The Ravenswood gold processing plant will then be treating five million tonnes of ore a year sourced from the Sarsfield and Nolans pits as well as that from underground at the Mount Wright operation. The project is expected to continue for the next 20 years.
