Reefton Open Pit
The Reefton mine was commissioned in 2007 and comprises of a series of open pits developed along a major regional shear structure and its offshoots. It is located seven kilometres southeast of the township of Reefton a historic mining district in the West Coast region of New Zealand’s South Island.
The processing plant which has a design capacity of one million tonnes per annum has been a steady performer and is currently operating at 60% above design capacity. A gold bearing concentrate is produced at the facility which is then railed over 600 kilometres south to Palmerston from where it is trucked to the Macraes operation for final processing through the pressure oxidation and carbon in leach circuits. Reefton produced a record 85,843 ounces of gold in 2010 and has a mine life based on current reserves only until approximately 2015.
Quick Facts:
- Mine Type: Open pit
- Resources: 1.20 Moz Gold
- Reserves: 0.37 Moz Gold
- Estimated Mine Life: ~2015-2017
- Gold Production: 55-75 Koz per annum
Exploration
Reefton Processing Plant
At the Reefton processing plant, the ore is put through crushing, grinding, flotation and concentrate dewatering. The processing plant is operating well above its design capacity. Throughput is currently ~1.7Mt per annum. Refractory concentrate produced from the Reefton processing plant is transported by road and rail to Macraes for treatment through the autoclave pressure oxidation and carbon in cyanide leaching.
Operating Statistics
|
Reefton |
2012 |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
|
Gold produced (ounces) |
63,300 |
77,648 |
85,843 |
87,342 |
76,132 |
|
Total Ore Mined (tonnes) |
1,314,630 |
1,513,789 |
1,539,609 |
1,425,135 |
1,307,134 |
|
Ore Mined grade (grams/tonne) |
1.56 |
1.80 |
2.11 |
2.46 |
2.24 |
|
Total Waste Mined (tonnes) incl pre-strip |
18,217,430 |
14,768,665 |
13,698,710 |
12,509,654 |
12,386,999 |
|
Mill Feed (dry milled tonnes) |
1,643,120 |
1,771,353 |
1,622,881 |
1,278,176 |
1,192,954 |
|
Mill Feed Grade (grams/tonne) |
1.48 |
1.67 |
2.01 |
2.60 |
2.47 |
|
Recovery (%) |
80.6% |
81.4% |
82.5% |
81.5% |
81.8% |