Where to Find a Gold Mine
A gold mine may produce only small amounts as a byproduct of mining for other minerals or it may produce a very large amount. Western Australia`s top producer is the “Super Pit”�.
The Super Pit is more formally known as the Fimiston Open Pit. It is also sometimes called the Golden Mile. The operation produced 20 tonnes of gold in 2008, which was actually a little lower than the previous average of �28 tonnes per year.
The Super Pit operation is located off the Goldfields Highway in southeast Kalgoorlie and is owned by Kalgoorlie Consolidated, a corporation made up of Barrick Gold and the Newmont Mining Corporation. The operation employs over 500 people at the site.
Telfer is usually the second largest producer in Western Australia. A little over 18 tonness were recovered in 2008. The operation also produces copper. Some 32,000 tonnes of copper were mined out of the location during the same year.
Telfer is located in the Great Sandy Desert and is fully owned by Newcrest Mining. The operations owned by Newcrest make it the largest gold producer in the country and one of the largest worldwide. The company also owns Cadia in New South Wales, Cracow in Queensland and another in Indonesia.
Telfer operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and employs over a thousand people. People seem to enjoy working there judging by posts on online message boards.
The gold mine at Telfer was discovered in 1972, although there are some disputes about who actually made the discovery. Newmont Mining has owned the facility since that year, but the site was closed for five years from 2000 to 2005. The reopening in 2005 was due to the discovery of another mineral deposit with a reserve of some 19 million gold-ounces and over 700,000 tonnes of copper.
Of the five largest gold-mining companies in the world, all except Goldcorp has at least one gold mine in Australia. Currently, there are nearly 30 mines in operation in Western Australia. Other major locations include Coyote, Port Hedland, Paulsens, Peak Hill, Norseman, Tropicana and Boddington, which is not too far from Perth.
Over 200,000 Australians are directly employed by the mining industry with many more earning their living indirectly from the mines. There have been several employment booms in the country with the most recent in 2011. The need for employees continues to rise. If you`re interested in working in a gold mine, Australia is definitely the place to be.
Gold Mine
