Daisy Milano Gold Mine


The Daisy Milano Gold Mine is a gold mine located 50 km south east of Kalgoorlie at Mount Monger Station, Western Australia.
It is currently owned by Silver Lake Resources. Silver Lake reopened the mine in December 2007. Daisy Milano's ore is processed in the Silver Lake-owned Lakewood gold processing facility, which is located 5 km south east of Kalgoorlie and capable of processing 300,000 tonnes per annum. Silver Lake purchased the facility in November 2007 for A$2.4 million.

History

While in relatively close proximity to Kalgoorlie, the Mount Monger goldfield had seen no systematic exploration approach in the past. Mining had been carried out in the area from the early 1900s, mostly by small mining company's, gold having been found there in 1896. Approximately 400,000 ounces have been mined in the Mount Monger area, with old workings in the area reaching a depth of 80 metres.
The current Daisy Milano mine has been in operation since 1990. Originally it was an underground operation, with a shaft haulage system, but, under the ownership of Ridgeview Nominees Pty Limited, a decline was established in 2001. In May 2002, an underground miner was killed at the facility, having been found unconscious on an underground access road, next to an open electrical switch box.
The mine was placed in care and maintenance in March 2007 by then-owner Perilya Limited, with the intention of selling it. Perilya themselves had purchased the operations in January 2005 for A$3.2 million, but suffered from a lack of own production facilities, having to cart its ore long distances to other company’s plants, such as Harmony’s Jubilee or Coolgardie, 100 km away from the mine.
Silver Lake, formed in 2004 and listed at the Australian Securities Exchange in 2007, acquired Daisy Milano in November 2007 for A$14.5 million from Perilya.
Mining at Daisy Milano resumed in December 2007 and the first gold pour was carried out in April 2008. In the June quarter of 2009, Silver Lake also carried out open pit mining 1 km north of the underground operation, at Christmas Flat.

Production

Production of the mine:
YearProductionGradeCost per ounce
20005,551 ounces7.1 g/tUS$201
20016,468 ounces6.0 g/tUS$234
2004-054,827 ounces7.96 g/t
2005-0625,573 ounces7.5 g/tA$596
2006-0724,779 ounces8.8 g/tA$590
2007-085,808 ounces10.2 g/tA$
2008-0949,272 ounces9.4 g/tA$780
2009-1066,671 ounces6.1 g/t