Beta Hunt
Location
Beta Hunt is located in Western Australia
Beta Hunt
Beta Hunt
LocationKambalda
stateWestern Australia
CountryAustralia
Coordinates31°13′05″S 121°40′44″E / 31.218°S 121.679°E / -31.218; 121.679
Production
ProductsGold
Production79,125 ounces[1]
Financial year2021
Typeunderground
History
Discovered1966[2]
Opened1973 (1973)
Active1973–2008, 2014–present
Owner
CompanyKarora Resources TSX: KRR
Websitewww.karoraresources.com/beta-hunt-mine
Year of acquisition2013

The Beta Hunt Mine is a nickel and gold mine near Kambalda in Western Australia. It is owned and operated by Canadian company Karora Resources through a subsidiary named Salt Lake Mining Pty Ltd. The mining tenement is held by Gold Fields Limited and leased to Salt Lake Mining.[2]

The mine is licensed to extract up to 480,000 kilolitres (17,000,000 cu ft) of water and discharge it into Lake Lefroy to maintain access to the mineral resources.[3]

History

The Beta Hunt Mine was originally a nickel mine, exploiting an ore body discovered in 1966. The mine opened in 1973[4] and produced 153,500 tonnes of nickel metal for WMC Resources by 1998.

The mine was sold to Gold Fields Limited in 2001. Reliance Mining acquired the nickel rights in 2003 and was acquired by Consolidated Minerals in 2005.[5]

The mine was placed into care and maintenance in 2008. It was acquired by Salt Lake Mining in 2013 after that company also secured gold mining rights. It resumed producing nickel in 2014 and started producing gold in November 2015.[2]

In September 2018, a large deposit of gold-bearing quartz rock was discovered in the mine during routine blasting, 500 metres (1,600 ft) underground.[6]

Nickel production is scheduled to resume at the mine from 2022, with Karora Resources aiming to produce up to 550 tonnes of nickel during the year.[7] Nickel had last been produced at the mine in 2018, when 300 tonnes were mined.[8] No nickel production was announced for 2022, also some mining for the commodity had taken place, but a guidance for 2023 for an intended nickel production of between 450 and 550 tonnes was announced in March 2023.[1]

Production

Recent annual production of the mine:[1][9][8]

Gold

Year Production Cost per ounce
2016 23,002 ounces
2017 35,307 ounces
2018 62,233 ounces
2019 47,642 ounces A$958
2020 66,479 ounces A$943
2021 78,476 ounces A$840
2022 79,125 ounces A$1,044

Nickel

Year Production
2016 1,800 tonnes
2017 800 tonnes
2018 300 tonnes
2019–2022 0

References

  1. 1 2 3 "KARORA RESOURCES REPORTS RECORD REVENUE, STRONG EARNINGS GROWTH IN FOURTH QUARTER 2022". www.karoraresources.com. Karora Resources. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Beta Hunt Mine". Producing Mines. RNC Minerals. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "Salt Lake Mining Pty Ltd". Environmental Protection Act 1986, Part V. Western Australia Department of Environment Regulation. 9 July 2015. L8893/2015/1. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Chiat, Josh (10 September 2018). "RNC Minerals uncovers two huge gold specimens in once-in-a-lifetime discovery". The West Australian. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Phillips, Aaron E; Western Australian School of Mines. Dept. of Mining Engineering and Mine Surveying (2006), A quantitative thermal assessment of the East Alpha mining area at the Beta Hunt underground nickel mine, retrieved 10 September 2018
  6. ↑ Lucas, Jarrod (10 September 2018). "Gold 'mother lode' unearthed underground in Kambalda delivers $15 million in just four days". ABC Goldfields. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Karora Announces Consolidated 2022 Gold Production Guidance of 110,000 - 135,000 ounces at AISC of US$950 - US$1,050 per ounce sold and Inaugural Nickel Production Guidance at Beta Hunt". money.tmx.com. Karora Resources. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Beta Hunt Mine". Mining Data Solutions. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  9. ↑ "Karora Delivers Record Revenue of $264 Million and Cash Flow Provided by Operating Activities of $106 Million in 2021". money.tmx.com. Karora Resources. Retrieved 3 April 2022.


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