The Lawlers Gold Mine is a gold mine located 23 km south west of Leinster, Western Australia, owned by Gold Fields. Gold Fields purchased the mine in late 2013 and combined it with its nearby Agnew Gold Mine. The process plant of the mine was subsequently sold and dismantled while no mining was carried out at Lawlers.
It was formerly operated by Barrick Gold and part of its Yilgarn South operation, which consisted of Lawlers, the Darlot-Centenary Gold Mine and the Granny Smith Gold Mine. The mine is located in the Norseman-Wiluna greenstone belt.Australia Pacific Barrick website, accessed: 1 January 2010
History
Gold was first discovered in the region in 1892 and the town side of Lawlers, named after Patrick Lawler who found the first gold in a nearby creek, was established. Of the original town of Lawlers, only the old police station is still standing.GHOST TOWNS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA gold-net.com.au, by Jim Foster, accessed: 3 January 2010
The site, was originally owned by Plutonic Resources, a major Australian gold mining and exploration company.PLUTONIC RESOURCES LIMITED (PLU) delisted.com.au, accessed: 1 January 2010Atlantic Gold NL website accessed: 1 January 2009 Homestake Mining Company purchased Plutonic in April 1998 for more than $1.0 billion,Homestake Mining Company - History accessed: 1 January 2009 and, in turn, Homestake was acquired by Barrick Gold at the end of 2001.MINEDEX website Darlot search result, accessed: 1 January 2010
Ore at Lawlers is mined in an underground operation.
In June 2009, Lawlers has been certified as fully compliant with the International Cyanide Management Code.Barrick Gold Corporation's Lawlers Gold Mine Certified Under International Cyanide Management Code published: 9 June 2009, accessed: 3 January 2010
In October 2013, Barrick finalised the sale of their Australian Yilgarn South mines, consisting of the Lawlers, Granny Smith and Darlot mines, to Goldfields. Barrick sold the mines as it considered them high-cost and required cash to compensate for the rising cost of its Pascua-Lama gold project. The three mines accounted for six percent of Barrick's annual gold output at the time. Goldfields purchased the mines for US$300 million, half of which had to be paid in cash while the other half could be issued in shares.
Gold Fields subsequently merged the operations with the nearby Agnew Gold Mine, closing the Lawlers processing plant and processing the ore mined at Lawlers at the Agnew plant. The plant was placed in care and maintenance and purchased by Kin Mining for A$2.5 million in June 2017. Kin relocated the movable assets of the plant 160km north to the Cardinia Gold Mine it was in the process of developing. Subsequently, ownership of the site and remaining plant components was returned to Gold Fields in 2020.
From its opening in 1894 to its closure in 2013, the mine had produced 2.27 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 4.1 grams of gold per tonne.
Production Annual production of the mine: Lawlers Production of the mine as a stand-alone operation:The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 10The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page 1052003 Fourth Quarter Report accessed: 1 January 20102004 Fourth Quarter Report accessed: 1 January 2010Fourth Quarter & Year-End Mine Statistics 2006 accessed: 1 January 2010Fourth Quarter & Year-End Mine Statistics 2007 accessed: 1 January 2010 Year Production Grade Cost per ounce 2000 101,200 ounces 4.94 g/t US$215 2001 104,000 ounces 4.45 g/t US$407 2002 113,291 ounces US$179 2003 99,223 ounces US$249 2004 110,374 ounces US$246 2005 131,000 ounces 0.154 oz/t US$324 2006 110,000 ounces 0.129 oz/t US$494 2007 115,000 ounces 0.138 oz/t US$515
Yilgarn South Production figures for the Yilgarn South operation, consisting of Darlot, Granny Smith and Lawlers:Fourth Quarter & Year-End Mine Statistics 2008 accessed: 1 January 2010 Year Production Grade Cost per ounce 2007 410,000 ounces 0.117 US$486 2008 325,000 ounces 0.125 US$749 2009 352,000 ounces US$685 2010 2011 2012 2013
References
Bibliography
External links
MINEDEX website: Lawlers Gold Database of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety