Tanami newmont

The 2011 decision to invest $450 million in the installation of a deep shaft to extend the life of the Tanami-Newmont Collie gold mine in the Northern Territory was aborted in 2012 when it appeared the high price of gold might become hard to sustain as some European countries were contemplating selling off some of their gold bullion.

The Tanami-Newmont Gold Operation is now Owner Operated

The Tanami-Newmont gold operations known, as the Tanami Project, includes the Granites where the gold †processing plant is located, the Collie underground gold mine where big expansion plans have been undertaken but shelved for the time being and Dead Bullock Soak. The operation takes place on Aboriginal freehold land in the famed Tanami Desert, 540 kilometres north west of Alice Springs. The operation is owned by giant U.S. Mining company Newmont and from 1995 to 2011 was operated by HWE Mining Contractors which was subsequently acquired by Leighton Holdings.

The Tanami-Newmont Callie underground mining operation began transitioning from contractor to owner in March 2011. HWE had been the only contractor at the Callie Mine and was the company that built the mine from scratch. During its time at the helm HWE produced over 6.5 million ounces of gold which made it one of Australia's most productive mines.

Tanami-Newmont Operations Have a Life†Expectancy to 2015

The life of the Tanami-Newmont Callie underground mine is expected to last until 2015 as at the end of 2011 it still had 2.52 million ounces of gold reserves. Gold production for 2011 reached 221,000 ounces. If it is decided to continue with the construction of the deep shaft project in the future the life of mine will be undoubtedly be extended further.

Equipment Used at the Tanami-Newmont Gold Project

Mining at the Tanami-Newmont operation is carried out by means of sub- level open stoping and cemented backfilling. This allows for selective extraction. The equipment used at the mine includes the following:

• †A Caterpillar 690 truck
• Wheel loaders ñ a Caterpillar 972G, a Caterpillar 980G and five
  Volvo L120's
  
• Boart Longyear diamond drills ñ two LM90's and two LM75's
• Charging rigs ñ one Charmac 1610B and one Getman 2-500C
• Robbins raise drills - two each, 41R and 73R
• Graders ñ two 12H and one 16H
• Drill jumbo production rigs ñ one Sandvic Minimatic H205, three
  sandvic (Tamrock) Avera D07 and three Sandvic (Tamrock) Solo
  7's
  

AD55's and ten Caterpillar AD55B's

Tanami-Newmont Gold Processed at the Granites

The Granites Gold processing Plant is 40 kilometres from the Callie underground mine via an all weather road from Dead Bullock Soak. The treatment plant consists of a crushing and grinding facility and a carbon-in- pulp (CIP) circuit. It began production in 1986 but has undergone many upgrades since until it can now process 2.5 million tonnes of ore a year.

There is also an accommodation village on site to house the fly-in-fly-out mine workers who work 12 hour shifts on a 14 days on and seven days off roster. Workers amenities include a spacious mess, both dry and wet,

swimming pool and outdoor sports facilities as well as on-site lifestyle and health co-ordinators.†