The Gwalia Gold Mine is located at Gwalia, a few kilometres south of Leonora, Western Australia. It was originally established by Welsh miners in the late 19th century and Herbert Hoover, the later President of the United States, served as the mine manager in its early days from May to November 1898.St Barbara website - Leonora accessed: 3 September 2009Gwalia Historic Site - History accessed: 4 September 2009
It is operated by Genesis Minerals Limited. The mine, with a depth of in 2019, is Australia's deepest underground gold mine and the deepest trucking mine in the world, with a proposed depth of by 2031. From its discovery to 2019, the mine produced of gold, at a 2019 equivalent value of A$10 billion.
History
It was established in 1896 as the Sons of Gwalia mine. It was referred to in the Welsh-language press as , meaning "[the] goldmine [of the] sons [of] Gwalia". Gwalia is a medieval Latin name for Wales which became popular in Welsh-language poetry in the nineteenth century.
The Sons of Gwalia reef was discovered by three prospectors who worked it for a brief time. After selling out to George Hall for £5,000 the latter recouped his investment after only one month. In search for additional capital, Hall began negotiations with a London firm, Bewick Moreing, who sent Herbert Hoover, a 23-year-old mining engineer, to the site. Hoover recommended Bewick Moreing purchase the mine, which they did with a cash commitment of £100,000 on 17 November 1897. He suggested himself as manager of the project and successfully reduced costs at the mine by hiring Italian labour.
A fierce rivalry between Gwalia and neighbouring Leonora developed and a tram service was established between the two towns in 1903. From the 1920s, the town started to decline when external factors like the falling gold price started to affect the mine. On 21 December 1963, the gold mine at Gwalia closed and the town was reduced in population from 1,500 to 40. The Sons of Gwalia mining company was delisted for the first time on 4 February 1964. In 65 years of operation, the mine had produced of gold.The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 105
In the 1980s, a new Sons of Gwalia company, formed by the brothers Peter and Chris Lalor, descendants of Peter Lalor,How sons of Lalor built, then sank, Sons of Gwalia The Sydney Morning Herald, accessed: 4 September 2009 started retreating old tailings before mining the old workings. In 1999, having concluded mining the Gwalia open pit, it started to develop an underground operation, passing through old workings by 2001.
On 4 September 2000, a flight to the Gwalia mine with seven Sons of Gwalia employees failed to land, instead continuing on to Burketown, where it eventually crashed, having run out of fuel. The pilot and the plane's seven passengers were killed.Media Release re: Aircraft Accident SGW ASX announcement, published: 5 September 2000, accessed: 8 February 2010
From 2001 onwards, the mine was part of the company's Leonora operations, after it acquired the Tarmoola Gold Mine through a merger with Pacmin Mining. Tarmoola is located north of the Gwalia mine.Sons of Gwalia annual report 2003 accessed: 12 January 2010
In December 2003, the mine was placed in care and maintenance after known gold resources were exhausted.Second Quarter Activities Report SGW quarterly report December 2003, published: 20 January 2004, accessed: 7 February 2010
After a rapid rise of the company, unauthorised gold and foreign exchange trading activities by chief financial officer Eardley Ross-Adjie in the year to June 2000, ended up costing Sons of Gwalia more than A$190 million. Sons of Gwalia went into administration on 30 August 2004, following a financial collapse, with debts exceeding $800 million after suffering from falling gold reserves and hedging losses.Ernst &Young agrees to $125m Sons of Gwalia settlement The West Australian, published: 4 September 2009, accessed: 4 September 2009 Sons of Gwalia was Australia's third-largest gold producer and also controlled more than half the world's production of tantalum.Sons of Gwalia's gold hedging had big holes The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 4 September 2004, accessed: 4 September 2009
Apart from Gwalia, St Barbara also formerly operated the Marvel Loch Gold Mine at Marvel Loch and Tarmoola Gold Mine.St Barbara website - Southern Cross accessed: 3 September 2009St Barbara website - Operations overview accessed: 3 September 2009 All three mines were previously owned by the now defunct mining company Sons of Gwalia Limited.The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 520 Sons of Gwalia went into administration on 30 August 2004 and the company's gold mining operations were sold to St Barbara in March 2005 for A$38 million, having been valued by the Sons of Gwalia directors at A$120 million. While Marvel Loch was operational before and after the sale, the Gwalia mine was already placed in care and maintenance at the time of the transaction. A fourth mine, the Carosue Dam Gold Mine, ceased operation in June 2005. All three have since been sold by St Barbara.Sons of Gwalia Limited at delisted.com.au accessed: 3 September 2009St Barbara Mines Limited - Lodgement of Open Briefing published: 28 June 2005, accessed: 3 September 2009The West Australian, published 16 March 2005, accessed: 3 September 2009
St Barbara purchased the mine from insolvent Sons of Gwalia in March 2005 with a three-year plan to reopen it.
After a three-year redevelopment, production resumed at the mine in September 2008, with the first gold pour being carried out in October 2008.First Gold Pour at Leonora Operations St Barbara website, published: 23 October 2008, accessed: 4 September 2009 The Hoover decline, named after the late President, was at below surface as of 30 June 2009, with the plant operating on a campaign basis, one week on, one week off.June 2009 quarterly report accessed: 3 September 2009
The Gwalia Gold Mine has continued underground production since reopening in 2008. By 2019, with a depth of , it became Australia's deepest underground gold mine and the deepest trucking mine in the world with all deeper gold mines operating with shafts rather than declines. Scheduled at the time to close by 2024, the mine's life was extended to 2031, with a proposed depth of .
In 2023, St Barbara sold the mine to Genesis Minerals.
Production Production of the mine:Media Release: Highlights from Quarterly Report 30-6-98 SGW ASX announcement, published: 17 July 1998, accessed: 8 February 2010Sons of Gwalia fourth quarter report 2004 accessed: 12 January 20102006 Annual report accessed: 3 September 20092007 Annual report accessed: 3 September 20092008 Annual report accessed: 3 September 20092012 Annual report accessed: 26 April 2014 Year Production Grade Cost per ounce 1997-98 113,767 ounces 2000 169,025 ounces 3.28 g/t A$301 2001 164,895 ounces 3.13 g/t A$324 2002 79,353 ounces 1.99 g/t A$457 2002–03 237,036 ounces A$470 2003–04 165,802 ounces A$476 2004–05 2005–2008 inactive 2008–09 82,795 ounces 3.3 g/t A$719 2010–11 131,133 ounces A$765 2011–12 184,534 ounces A$646 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 265,000 ounces 2017–18 268,000 ounces 2018–19 220,000 ounces 2019–20 171,156 ounces 7.1 g/t A$1,485 2020–21 152,696 ounces 6.6 g/t A$1,744 2021–22 191,459 ounces 6.0 g/t A$1,717 2022–23 138,050 ounces 5.19 g/t A$2,521
Notes
2002 results for January to September only. Additionally to this, the Kundana and East Kundana underground operations were added to the Mungari Operation in 2021. Combined result for the Leonora operations, consisting of Gwalia and Tarmoola. The Gwalia mine however closed in December 2003. Only the Gwalia mine, excludes King of the Hills extension.
References
Bibliography
External links
MINEDEX website: Gwalia - Leonora Database of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety How sons of Lalor built, then sank, Sons of Gwalia The Sydney Morning Herald - Article on the collapse of Sons of Gwalia