White foil

The White Foil gold mine, located 20 kilometres west of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields Region of Western Australia, is owned by La Mancha, a Canadian based gold exploration company majority owned by Cairo based billionaire, Naguib Sawiris. The mine is situated two kilometres from the La Mancha owned, Frog's Leg mine. La Mancha was formed in 2006 as a result of a merger between Areva NC, a large multinational French based company and La Mancha, which up until then had mainly focused on gold exploration. In 2006, La Mancha Resources acquired Mines and Resources†Australia, a subsidiary company owned by Areva. Areva set about dewatering the flooded pit in 2007 and 2008. At the time of the La Mancha acquisition the White Foil mine was an asset owned by Areva. The White Foil mine had been placed on care and maintenance by Areva but it returned to production in 2010 after the change of ownership.

White Foil Mine has Gold Reserve of 500,000 Ounces

Gold bearing ore mined from the White Foil open pit operation is custom milled at a nearby Greenfields gold processing plant. The phase one pit that is currently being mined contains a proven and probable gold reserve of 46,000 ounces of gold., however, the White Foil mine has an indicated and measured gold resource of 500,000 ounces.

White Foil Mine to Produce 10,000 Ounces of Gold a Year

La Mancha aims to eventually produce up to 10,000 ounces of gold a year from the White Foil operation. It also intends to tender the mine out for operation under a contractor when its starts work on the second bench of the Phase one pit. It would be then processing 310,000 tonnes of ore a year at an average a grade of two ounces of gold a tonne. Phase two of the White Foil gold mine development program will involve a much larger pit and the construction of an on-site processing mill to maximise gold recovery opportunities.

Gold Discovered at White Foil in 1996

The White Foil gold deposit was discovered in 1996. It was then jointly owned by Aurion Gold Limited and Mines and Resources Australia. Gold mining began in February 2002 with the ore being processed at the Paddington Gold Mine as Paddington, at that time, was also owned by Aurion Gold. The first White Foil gold pour took place in August 2002. In August, 2003 the White Foil mine was placed on care and maintenance as a result of an excessive flow of saline water finding its way into the open pit.

White Foil Ore to be Toll-Treated at Three Mile Hill

Aurion Gold was acquired by Placer Dome Limited in early 2003. Placer Dome was acquired by Barrick Gold in March 2006. In September 2006 La Mancha Resources successfully acquired Mines and Resources Australia. Near the end of January 2010 it was announced that ore mined at the White Foil mine would be toll-treated at the recently constructed Three Mile Hill, gold treatment plant at the Coolgardie gold mine, which is owned by Focus Minerals. Mining resumed at the White Foil mine in March 2010. La Mancha Resources have since announced large expansion plans for the White Foil Mine as well as the construction of its own gold processing plant.