Davyhurst Gold Mine

The Davyhurst Gold Mine is a gold mine located 53 km south-west of Menzies, Western Australia, near Davyhurst.[2]

Davyhurst
Location
Davyhurst Gold Mine
Location in Australia
LocationMenzies
StateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Coordinates30°02′50″S 120°39′20″E
Production
Production18,392[1]
Financial year2007–08
History
Opened2001
Closed2008
Owner
CompanySwan Gold Mining
WebsiteSwan Gold website
Year of acquisition2010

The mine was recently acquired by Swan Gold Mining Limited, having formerly been owned by Monarch Gold Mining Company Ltd, and went on care and maintenance shortly before Monarch went into administration in June 2008.[3] A second mine owned by Monarch, the Mount Ida Gold Mine, was also shut down, while the company's third mine, the Hill 50 Gold Mine, never entered production under Monarch's ownership.

History

A first treatment plant at Davyhurst was built by WMC Resources in 1986 and sold on in the following year. After intermittent attempts to mine the area by a number of companies, Cons Gold purchased the mine in 1996, moved the treatment from the Bardoc Gold Mine to Davyhurst, and commenced mining. Cons Gold appointed an administrator in April 1998 and the mine was inherited by N M Rothschild & Sons. Rothschild continued processing until April 1999.[4]

The deposit was purchased in mid-2000 by Croesus Mining NL from Rothschild. Croesus made Davyhurst the first new gold mine to open in Western Australia in the new century.[5]

Within less than a year of acquiring the mine, Croesus moved from exploration to mining and opened Giles open pit operation in May 2001.[5] From 2001 until the mine closed in October 2005, it had produced 387,000 ounces of gold, while historical production for the area since 1897 was 1.15 million ounces.[6]

In November 2005, Croesus sold the mine to the Monarch Gold Mining Company for A$5 million.[2][7] In June 2006, Croesus Mining went into voluntary administration.[8]

Monarch recommenced mining at Davyhurst in June 2007 and announced its first gold pour in the following August.[9]

The Davyhurst mine was placed in care and maintenance once more on 14 June because of continued underperformance while its second operation, the Mount Ida Gold Mine, remained in production.[10] Michael Kiernan was appointed as managing director of Monarch and resigned as chairman of Territory Resources, the main creditor of Monarch, on 24 June.[11]

Monarch appointed Pitcher Partners as voluntary administrators on 10 July 2008. Two of Monarch's directors, Michael Kiernan[12] and Allan Quadrio, had already taken Croesus, the previous mine owner, into administration two years earlier.[3][8][13]

In June 2009, Stirling Resources Limited, under managing director Michael Kiernan, announced to inject funds into Monarch Gold.[3] Stirling announced, it would cover all of Monarch's debt, A$55 million and intended to return both the Mount Ida Gold Mine and Davyhurst into operation, the later within three-month of the take over. Mount Ida is scheduled to produce 48,000 ounces of gold per annum at A$450 an ounce, while Davyhurst would produce 65,000 ounces at A$850. Stirling would rename Monarch to Swan Gold Mining Limited.[14] The proposal was accepted by Monarch's creditors on 1 July 2009.

Stirling experienced considerable delays in their fund raising and had to request for extensions on the dead line for the recapitalisation of Monarch, first to 31 December 2009 and then to 31 January 2010.[15]

If reopened, the mine would be part of Swan's Carnegie Gold Project, alongside the nearby Riverina Gold Project, Mulline Project, Siberia and Lady Ida.[16]

The new owners, Swan Gold Mining, announced plans to reopen Davyhurst in May 2010 and Mt Ida in October of the same year.[17]

Gold mines in the Kalgoorlie region

Production

Production of the mine:

Croesus
Year Production Grade Cost per ounce
2001[5] 61,471 ounces 2.5 g/t A$328
2002 91,852 ounces 2.47 g/t
2003 110,621 ounces 3.06 g/t
2004 84,570 ounces 2.58 g/t

Monarch
Quarter Production Grade Cost per ounce
Third Quarter 2007[18] 4,085 ounces 1.19 g/t
Fourth Quarter 2007 7,276 ounces 1.29 g/t
First Quarter 2008 7,031 ounces 1.3 g/t
Second Quarter 2008

See also

Sources

References
  1. July 2007 to March 2008 only
  2. MINEDEX website - Davyhurst search result accessed: 15 January 2010 Archived 11 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. MONARCH GOLD MINING COMPANY LIMITED (MON) delisted.com.au, accessed: 15 January 2010
  4. DAVYHURST OFFICIAL MINE OPENING MAY 11TH, 2001 by: Ron Manners, Chairman of Croesus Mining, accessed: 15 January 2010
  5. The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003–2004 Edition, page: 80–81, accessed: 15 January 2010
  6. Purchase of Davyhurst gold project ASX announcement, published 8 November 2005, accessed: 15 January 2010
  7. Croesus sells Davyhurst mine to Monarch The Age, published: 8 November 2005, accessed: 15 January 2010
  8. CROESUS MINING NL (CRS) delisted.com.au, accessed: 15 January 2010
  9. Monarch 2007 annual report ASX announcement, published 15 October 2007, accessed: 15 January 2010
  10. Davyhurst and Mt Ida Operations Update ASX announcement, published 16 June 2008, accessed: 15 January 2010
  11. Michael Kiernan vows to save gold miner Monarch perthnow.com.au, published 24 June 2008, accessed: 15 January 2010
  12. Kiernan empire continues to bemuse crikey.com.au, published: 27 October 2009, accessed: 15 January 2010
  13. Changes to Board of Directors ASX announcement, published 16 March 2006, accessed: 15 January 2010
  14. SRE: Offer to Recap Monarch to take it out of administration ASX announcement, published 23 June 2009, accessed: 15 January 2010
  15. Deed Administrator`s Update to Shareholders ASX announcement, published 23 December 2009, accessed: 15 January 2010
  16. Carnegie Gold Project Archived 27 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine Swan Gold website, accessed: 18 January 2010
  17. Swan to commence mining in May Swan Gold ASX announcement, published: 25 March 2010, accessed: 25 April 2010
  18. Quarterly Activities and Cashflow Report ASX announcement, published 31 October 2007, accessed: 15 January 2010
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