The Thunderbox Gold Mine is a gold mine 41 km south-east of Leinster, Western Australia. It was formerly owned by Norilsk Nickel, which placed it in care and maintenance in 2007, but is now owned by Northern Star Resources.
Ethymology The mine is named after the colloquial Australian term for a toilet, thunderbox, which was given to the site in its early exploration days because the only available toilet on site was a 44 gallon drum on top of an old drill hole.
History
The Thunderbox gold deposit is a relatively recent discovery by Western Australian gold mining standards, having been located through drilling in mid-1999. The deposit was jointly owned by Lionore (60%) and Dalrymple Resources (40%).The Australian Mines Handbook: 2003-2004 Edition, page: 129, accessed: 29 January 2010
The owners conducted a feasibility study in 2001 and predicted a mine life of five years and a gold resource of 850,000 ounces, to be mined in an open-pit operation. The company moved the processing plant from Mount Todd to the mine, and first gold production was achieved at the end of 2002.
In mid-2003, Lionore and Dalrymple announced a merger of the two companies, with the new entity continuing to be called Lionore.News Release: LionOre & Dalrymple announce merger Lionore ASX announcement, published: 5 August 2003, accessed: 29 January 2010
After good results in the mine's first two years of operation,Goldminer beats the profit odds The Age, published: 5 March 2004, accessed: 29 January 2010 Thunderbox suffered a difficult 2005, with lower-than-expected production in the second half of the year. Water shortages and equipment reliability issues were two of the main reasons for the decline in production, but write-downs because of its short remaining mine life led to large financial losses for the Thunderbox operation. Lionore at this stage was contemplating selling the mine.Fourth Quarter Results December 2005 Lionore ASX announcement, published: 7 March 2006, accessed: 29 January 2010
In April 2007, it was once more reported that the mine was for sale.St Barbara offloads Tarmoola goldmine The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 14 April 2007, accessed: 29 January 2010
Norilsk acquired the mine in June 2007, when it took over Lionore Mining.MINEDEX website Thunderbox Gold search result, accessed: 29 January 2010LIONORE MINING INTERNATIONAL LIMITED (LIM) delisted.com.au, accessed: 29 January 2010
Lionore Mining was taken over by Russian company Norilsk in June 2007, after a bidding war between Norilsk and Xstrata saw the former succeeding with the higher offer. Xstrata had originally offered C$18.50 for every Lionore share, countered by a Norilsk offer of C$21.50 per share. Xstrata raised their offer to C$25, which forced Norilsk to present a final offer of C$27.50.Material Change Report Lionore ASX announcement, published: 29 May 2007, accessed: 29 January 2010
Shortly after the takeover, Norilsk announced that it would not continue mining at Thunderbox, instead preferring to concentrate on the company's nickel projects.Norilsk moves to focus on nickel The Australian, published: 8 September 2007, accessed: 29 January 2010Norilsk outlines plans for WA assets The Sydney Morning Herald, published: 7 September 2007, accessed: 29 January 2010 The mine eventually closed in November 2007.China may pass SA as world's leading gold producer this year, Australia No. 3 mineweb.com, author: Ross Louthean, published: 3 December 2007, accessed: 29 January 2010
After the closure of the mine, Norilsk used the camp at Thunderbox for accommodation for its workers at the nearby Waterloo Nickel Mine, until the latter was also placed into care and maintenance.Norilsk Nickel Australia Norilsk website, accessed: 29 January 2010
In January 2014, Saracen Mineral Holdings purchased the mine alongside the Bannockburn Gold Mine and the Waterloo Nickel Mine, for an immediate A$20 million cash payment, a production- and gold price related deferred A$3 million cash payment and up to A$17 million in royalties.
The board of Saracen Mineral Holdings approved a project to develop the Thunderbox deposit in quarter three of the 2015 financial year, with prestrip mining commencing in 2015. First gold was poured in February 2016.
In October 2020, a merger between Northern Star Resources and Saracen Metal Holdings was proposed. The merger was completed in February 2021 when Saracen was de-listed from the Australian Securities Exchange, the Northern Star Resources mine thereby passing into Northern Star's ownership.
As of 2022, mining occurs in both open pit and underground operations.
Production Production figures of the mine:Annual Report 2002 Lionore ASX announcement, published: 5 August 2003, accessed: 29 January 2010Fourth Quarter Results December 2003 Lionore ASX announcement, published: 4 March 2004, accessed: 29 January 2010Fourth Quarter Results December 2004 Lionore ASX announcement, published: 16 March 2005, accessed: 29 January 2010Fourth Quarter Results December 2006 Lionore ASX announcement, published: 27 February 2006, accessed: 29 January 2010First Quarter Results March 2007 Lionore ASX announcement, published: 15 May 2007, accessed: 30 January 2010 Year Production Grade Cost per ounce 2002 17,790 ounces 2.38 g/t US$95 2003 212,459 ounces US$138 2004 156,916 ounces US$265 2005 145,413 ounces US$339 2006 155,203 ounces US$352 2007 39,345 ounces US$518 2007–2016 Care and maintenance 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 184,538 ounces A$731 2020–21 143,990 ounces A$924 2021–22 132,502 ounces 1.5 g/t A$1,817 2022–23 159,782 ounces 1.4 g/t A$2,116
Notes
The Thunderbox Gold Mine is part of the Yandal Production Centre but production figures were reported separately for 2020–21 as it was a new acquisition. Results for January to March 2007 quarter only.
References
Bibliography
External links
MINEDEX website: Thunderbox Gold Database of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety