White Foil Gold Mine
The White Foil Gold Mine is a gold mine 23 km south-west of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It is currently owned by La Mancha Resources and has been in care and maintenance since 2003, but is scheduled to reopen in March 2010.
La Mancha also owns 51% of the Frog's Leg Gold Mine, located 19 km west of Kalgoorlie.History
The White Foil deposit was discovered in 1996.
The mine, then own jointly by Mines and Resources Australia and AurionGold Limited, started operations in February 2002. Ore was treated at the Paddington Gold Mine, which, at the time, was owned by AurionGold, and the first gold pour took place in August 2002.
The mine was placed in care and maintenance in August 2003, after excessive flow of saline water into the open pit.
AurionGold was taken over by Placer Dome Limited in January 2003. Placer Dome in turn was taken over by Barrick Gold in March 2006.
In September 2006, La Mancha Resources announced the takeover of Mines and Resources Australia, a subsidiary of the French company Areva, and thereby the White Foil mine. The company dewatered the flooded pit in 2007 and 2008.
On 27 January, La Mancha announced that ore from White Foil would toll-treat at the new Three Mile Hill treatment plant at the Coolgardie Gold Mine, owned by Focus Minerals. Mining at White Foil is to resume in March 2010.Production
Production figures of the mine:
