Goldstrike mine

Last updated
Goldstrike Mine
Goldstrike mine 2016 satfoto.jpg
Goldstrike Mine from space, 2016. The large Betze-Post open pit is labelled at top center. False color image: see source for details.
Location
USA Nevada location map.svg
Schlaegel und Eisen nach DIN 21800.svg
Goldstrike Mine
Location in Nevada
Location Eureka County
State Nevada
Country United States
Coordinates 40°58′54″N116°22′44″W / 40.981583°N 116.378964°W / 40.981583; -116.378964 Coordinates: 40°58′54″N116°22′44″W / 40.981583°N 116.378964°W / 40.981583; -116.378964
Production
Products Gold
Production795,664 ounces (22,556.7 kg)
Financial year2018 [1]
History
Opened1975
Owner
Company Barrick Gold
Website Goldstrike webpage
Year of acquisition1986
Millerite- Arsenian Pyrite specimen from the underground Meikle mine, Goldstrike complex. Millerite-Pyrite-187700.jpg
Millerite- Arsenian Pyrite specimen from the underground Meikle mine, Goldstrike complex.

Goldstrike is a gold mine in Eureka County in north-eastern Nevada. It is located on the Carlin Trend, a prolific gold mining district. It is owned and operated by Barrick Gold. Since Barrick acquired Goldstrike in 1986, until 2018 it produced 44.4 million ounces of gold. [1]

Contents

History

The first discovery of gold in the Goldstrike property was in 1962 by Atlas Minerals. Gold was first mined from the upper, well-oxidized portion of what became the Post deposit in 1975 by PanCana Minerals Ltd., in a small open-pit heap leach operation. In 1978, Western State Minerals Corporation entered into a joint venture (JV) with PanCana. The JV delineated ore reserves for the Post deposit in 1986. Barrick acquired 100% ownership of the property in December 1986, and mining started in 1987. [2] [3]

Geology

The Goldstrike mine complex comprises the Betze-Post-Screamer and Meikle-Rodeo deposits. [4] The Goldstrike mine adjoins Newmont Mining's Carlin mine complex. Goldstrike is northwest of the Carlin mine on the Carlin Trend. [5]

Like most Carlin type gold deposits in Nevada the gold was epithermally deposited in carbonate or silicate sedimentary rocks. The heat source was magmatic but the exact mechanism is still under debate. The Betze-Post deposits are up to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) long, 600 feet (180 m) thick and 800 feet (240 m) wide. In 2018 the average gold grade was 0.109 troy ounces (3.4 g) per ton for open pit ore, and 0.274 troy ounces (8.5 g) per ton for underground pit ore, for a mine average of 0.230 troy ounces (7.2 g) per ton. [2] [1]

Mining operations

The Goldstrike complex consists of three distinct mines: the large Betze-Post open-pit mine, and the Meikle and Rodeo underground mines. The ore from all three mines is milled, oxidized in either a roaster or an autoclave, then leached in either a carbon-in-leach (CIL) cyanidation circuit or a calcium thiosulfate circuit. [6] The two treatment facilities treat ores from both the open pit and underground mines. Recovered gold is processed into doré on-site and shipped to outside refineries for processing into gold bullion. [2]

In 2015 the Betze-Post open-pit mine produced 642,493 oz (18,214.4 kg) of gold and 87,223 oz (2,472.7 kg) of silver, while the Meikle-Rodeo underground operations yielded 411,003 oz (11,651.7 kg) of gold and 17,749 oz (503.2 kg) of silver. This was 24% of the total 5,339,659 oz (151,376.8 kg) output of all gold mining operations in Nevada for 2015. In 2018 Goldstrike produced 795,663 ounces of gold, [1] [6] making it the world's eighth largest gold mine. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Summitville mine

The Summitville mine was a gold mining site in the United States, located in Rio Grande County, Colorado 25 miles (40 km) south of Del Norte. It is remembered for the environmental damage caused in the 1980s by the leakage of mining by-products into local waterways and then the Alamosa River.

Gold mining Process of extracting gold from the ground

Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface, has led to more complex extraction processes such as pit mining and gold cyanidation. In the 20th and 21st centuries, most volume of mining was done by large corporations, however the value of gold has led to millions of small, artisanal miners in many parts of the Global South.

Homestake Mine (South Dakota) Defunct gold mine in Lead, South Dakota, USA, used for neutrino experiments

The Homestake Mine was a deep underground gold mine located in Lead, South Dakota. Until it closed in 2002 it was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America. The mine produced more than forty million troy ounces of gold during its lifetime. This is about 2,500 cubic feet (71 m3) or a volume of gold roughly equal to 18,677 US gallons.

Gold mining in the United States Overview of gold mining in the United States of America

Gold mining in the United States has taken place continually since the discovery of gold at the Reed farm in North Carolina in 1799. The first documented occurrence of gold was in Virginia in 1782. Some minor gold production took place in North Carolina as early as 1793, but created no excitement. The discovery on the Reed farm in 1799 which was identified as gold in 1802 and subsequently mined marked the first commercial production.

Silver mining in the United States

Silver mining in the United States began on a major scale with the discovery of the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1858. The industry suffered greatly from the demonetization of silver in 1873 by the Coinage Act of 1873, known pejoratively as the "Crime of 73", but silver mining continues today.

Gold mining in Colorado, a state of the United States, has been an industry since 1858. It also played a key role in the establishment of the state of Colorado.

Silver mining in Colorado has taken place since the 1860s. In the past, Colorado called itself the Silver State.

Silver mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, began in 1858 with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver-mining district in the United States. Nevada calls itself the "Silver State." Nevada is the nation's second-largest producer of silver, after Alaska. In 2014 Nevada produced 10.93 million troy ounces of silver, of which 6.74 million ounces were as a byproduct of the mining of gold. The largest byproducers were the Hycroft Mine, the Phoenix Mine, the Midas Mine and Round Mountain.

Getchell Mine

The Getchell Mine is an underground gold mine in the Potosi Mining District of Humboldt County, Nevada, on the east flank of the Osgood Mountains, 35 miles northeast of Winnemucca. Prospectors Edward Knight and Emmet Chase discovered gold in 1933 and located the first claims in 1934. With the financial backing of Noble Getchell and George Wingfield, the Getchell Mine, Inc. was organized in 1936 and the mine was brought into production in 1938.

Gold mining in Alaska, a state of the United States, has been a major industry and impetus for exploration and settlement since a few years after the United States acquired the territory in 1867 from the Russian Empire. Russian explorers discovered placer gold in the Kenai River in 1848, but no gold was produced. Gold mining started in 1870 from placers southeast of Juneau, Alaska.

Gold mining in Nevada Overview of gold mining in Nevada

Gold mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, is a major industry, and one of the largest sources of gold in the world. In 2018 Nevada produced 5,581,160 troy ounces, representing 78% of US gold and 5.0% of the world's production. Total gold production recorded from Nevada from 1835 to 2017 totals 205,931,000 troy ounces (6,405.2 t), worth US$322.6 billion at 2020 values. Much of Nevada's gold production comes from large open pit mining using heap leaching recovery.

Mining industry of Ghana

The Mining industry of Ghana accounts for 5% of the country's GDP and minerals make up 37% of total exports, of which gold contributes over 90% of the total mineral exports. Thus, the main focus of Ghana's mining and minerals development industry remains focused on gold. Ghana is Africa's largest gold producer, producing 80.5 t in 2008. Ghana is also a major producer of bauxite, manganese and diamonds. Ghana has 20 large-scale mining companies producing gold, diamonds, bauxite and manganese, and, there are also over 300 registered small scale mining groups and 90 mine support service companies.

Coeur Mining, Inc. is a precious metals mining company listed on the New York Stock exchange. It operates five mines located in North America. Coeur employs 2,200 people and in 2012 it was the world's 9th largest silver producer. In 2013 the company changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. from Coeur d'Alene Mines and moved its head office to Chicago, Illinois from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

The Samira Hill Gold Mine is a gold mine in Téra Department of the Tillabéri Region in Niger. Opened in late 2004, it is the first industrial scale gold mine in the nation, and while operated by a Canadian/Moroccan consortia, the government of Niger owns both a 20% stake in its operation, and functions under government concession. The mine, and the possibility that other gold concessions will follow, is projected to be an important component of future export revenue for the West African state.

The Telfer Mine is a gold, copper and silver mine located at Telfer on the land of the Martu people, in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. It is owned by Newcrest Mining, the greatest gold producer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Cortez Gold Mine is a large gold mining and processing facility in Lander and Eureka County, Nevada, United States, located approximately 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Elko. It is owned as a joint venture between Barrick Gold Corporation (61.5%) and Newmont Corporation (38.5%), operated by Barrick, and comprises the Pipeline, Crossroads, and Cortez Hills open pit mines; and the Cortez Hills underground mine. Ore from the mines is treated at an oxide mill at the site and on leach pads, while refractory ore is shipped to Barrick’s Goldstrike operation for processing.

Kittilä mine

Kittilä mine, also known as Suurikuusikko mine, is a gold mine in Kittilä, in the Lapland County of Finland. The mine is owned and operated by Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited and is located 36 kilometres (22 mi) north-east of Kittilä. Exploration began in 1986, and production started in 2008. The mine is composed of two open pits, with the proceeds of the operation funding an underground mining operation, accessed by a ramp from surface and utilizing both transverse and longitudinal long-hole stoping methods. The mine utilizes on-site concentrating to produce Doré bars for shipment off-site for refinement, and is scheduled to produce 150,000 ounces (4,300,000 g) of gold in 2009.

Carlin–type gold deposit

Carlin–type gold deposits are sediment-hosted disseminated gold deposits. These deposits are characterized by invisible gold in arsenic rich pyrite and arsenopyrite. This dissolved kind of gold is called "Invisible Gold", as it can only be found through chemical analysis. The deposit is named after the Carlin mine, the first large deposit of this type discovered in the Carlin Trend, Nevada.

Round Mountain Gold Mine Gold mine in Nevada, United States

The Round Mountain Gold Mine is an open pit gold mine in Round Mountain, Nevada. The mine is operated and owned by Kinross Gold.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Cox, Jason J.; Valliant, Wayne W.; Geusebroek, Philip A.; Haggarty, Steve (22 March 2019). "Technical Report NI 43-101 on the Goldstrike Mine, Eureka and Elko Counties, State of Nevada, USA" (PDF). Toronto, ON: Barrick Gold Corporation. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Tsai, Peggy (September 2008). "Goldstrike Mine – Nevada's Giant Golden Goose" (PDF). Mining.com Magazine: 44–47. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  3. Moore, Chester M.; et al. (16 March 2012). "Barrick Gold and Franco-Nevada - Goldstrike Mine, Project #1663". Toronto, Ontario: Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  4. Kesler, Stephen E.; Riciputi, Lee C.; Ye, Zaojun (2005). "Evidence for a magmatic origin for Carlin-type gold deposits: isotopic composition of sulfur in the Betze-Post-Screamer Deposit, Nevada, USA" (PDF). Mineralium Deposita. 40: 127. doi:10.1007/s00126-005-0477-9. hdl: 2027.42/46046 .
  5. USGS, 1998, "Oreshoot Zoning in the Carlin-type Betze Orebody, Goldstrike Mine, Eureka County, Nevada", Open-File Report 98-620 (full text). See Figure 2 for mine locations and local geology
  6. 1 2 "Barrick 2017 Operations and Technical Update" (pdf). Barrick Gold. p. 170. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  7. Els, Frik (18 June 2019). "Top 10 biggest gold mines". Mining.com. Vancouver, British Columbia. Retrieved 6 March 2020.