Henty Gold Mine

Mine in western Tasmania

HentyLocation

Henty Gold Mine

Location in Tasmania

Location| Henty River
State| Tasmania
Country| Australia
Coordinates| 41°52′28″S 145°33′04″E﻿ / ﻿41.87444°S 145.55111°E﻿ / -41.87444; 145.55111
Production
Production| 43,178
Financial year| 2009–10
History
Opened| 1996
Owner
Company| Unity Mining Pty Ltd
Website| Diversified Minerals website
Year of acquisition| July 2009

The Henty Gold Mine is located at the head of the Henty River on the edge of the West Coast Range in Western Tasmania. It is approximately 30 km north of Queenstown. It is east of Zeehan and south of Rosebery. It can be reached by the Hydro-built road that passes between the Henty River and Tullah.

## History

[edit]

Operations began in the 1990s. Its orebody and viability was ascertained from earlier exploration in the area during the 1970s when the priority was for other forms of mineralization within the Mount Read Volcanic Belt.

> Henty lies within the mineral rich Mt. Read Volcanic Belt in Western Tasmania that hosts the Hellyer, Que River, Rosebery, Hercules and Mount Lyell base metal deposits. The eastern side of the belt is dominated by the Henty Fault which runs north-east for over 60 kilometres between Mount Charter and Mount Read. The Henty operation is based on a series of structurally complex high-grade zones of gold mineralisation that occur within a package of highly altered volcanic rock adjacent to the Henty Fault.[1]

The Henty Gold Mine was operated by Barrick Gold – currently the largest gold producing company in the world, which acquired the mine through the takeover of Placer Dome in 2006.[2] The Henty mine was expected to close on or before November 2009, with subsequent rehabilitation, due to depletion of ore reserves.

Henty Gold was acquired by Bendigo Mining mid-2009. Bendigo specialise in small scale operations and expect to extend the mine's life and also own the Kangaroo Flat Mine at Bendigo.[3] The mine continued to operate under Bendigo, producing 43,178 ounces of gold in the 2009–10 financial year, after investing A$3.8 million into mining equipment for the mine.[4] At stages of the mine's history, environmental monitoring studies were conducted on adjacent waterways.[5][6][7]

In January 2021, the mine was acquired by Catalyst Metals Ltd.[8]

### Death of mine worker

[edit]

On 23 January 2020 a mine worker was missing underground following a fall of ground at the mine.[9] By the next day, it was reported as unlikely that he could have survived due to the amount of rock which had fallen. The mine was still unstable so only drones had been able to explore the rockfall.[10] On 25 January, mining services company Pybar Mining Services stated "following a site visit yesterday afternoon by the Tasmanian State Coroner and Tasmanian Police, it is with sadness that we acknowledge that the most likely outcome of our missing work colleague is that he is deceased."[11] Police also confirmed the presumed death of 44-year-old Cameron John Goss in a statement released to media.[12][13]

## Production

[edit]

Past production figures of the mine were:

Year | Production | Grade | Cost per ounce

|
|
|

2000[2] | 97,332 ounces  | 16.47 g/t  | A$ 236
2001[2] | 76,418 ounces  | 12.50 g/t  | A$321
2002  |  |  |
2003  |  |  |
2004  |  |  |
2005  |  |  |
2006  |  |  |
2007  |  |  |
2008  | decreased by 280 kg[14] |  |
2009  |  |  |
2009–10  | 43,178 ounces  | 5.2 g/t  | $890/oz
2010-11  | 35,728 ounces  | 4.7 g/t  | $1105/oz inclusive of royalties
2011-12  | 50,058 ounces  | 5.6 g/t  | $982/oz inclusive of royalties
2012-13  | 43,851 ounces  | 5.3 g/t  | $1114/oz inclusive of royalties
2013-14  | 38,067 ounces  | 5.3 g/t  | $1203/oz, including royalties of $39/oz
2014-15  | 50,450 ounces  | 6.27 g/t  | $870/oz, including royalties of $69/oz
2016–17  |  |  |
2017–18  | 26,191 ounces[15] |  |
2017–18  |  | est. 5.7 g/t  |

## See also

[edit]

* West Coast Tasmania Mines

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Unity Mining: Henty Gold Mine – Description". Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-18.
2. ^ a b c The Australian Mines Handbook – 2003–04 Edition page: 172
3. ^ "Bendigo Mining". Archived from the original on 13 October 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-06.
4. ^ "FY10 gold production of 79,827 ounces" (PDF). Bmnl.com.au. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2010.[permanent dead link‍]
5. ^ Davies, PE; Cook, LSJ; Sloane, T (2009), Biomonitoring of streams associated with Henty Gold Mine 2009 [Report to Henty Gold Mine, Bendigo Mining Limited], Freshwater Systems, retrieved 24 January 2020
6. ^ Davies, PE; Cook, LSJ; Sloane, T (2010), Biomonitoring of streams associated with Henty Gold Mine 2010 [Report to Henty Gold Mine, Bendigo Mining Limited], Freshwater Systems, retrieved 24 January 2020
7. ^ Davies, PE; Cook, LSJ (January 2012), Biomonitoring of streams associated with Henty Gold Mine, 2012 [Report to Henty Gold Mine, Unity Mining Limited], Freshwater Systems, retrieved 24 January 2020
8. ^ "Henty Gold Mine • Catalyst Metals".
9. ^ Editor, Mining (23 January 2020). "Mine worker missing at Henty Gold mine". Australasian Mine Safety Journal. Retrieved 23 January 2020. `{{cite web}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
10. ^ "Police say 'it can only be concluded' the missing worker 'died' in Henty Gold Mine". ABC News. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
11. ^ Editor, Mining (25 January 2020). "Pybar mining confirms 'worst fears' for trapped miner | Mine Safety News". Australasian Mine Safety Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2020. `{{cite web}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
12. ^ "Henty Gold Mine search – Updated @ 4.00pm 24 Jan 2020". Tasmania Police. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
13. ^ Editor, Mining (25 January 2020). "Police release name of miner trapped in Henty Gold mine | Mine Safety". Australasian Mine Safety Journal. Retrieved 25 January 2020. `{{cite web}}`: `|last=` has generic name (help)
14. ^ Minerals Yearbook, 2008, V. 1, Metals and Minerals
15. ^ "During the reporting period 26,191 ounces of gold were produced" (PDF). divminerals.com.au. 18 October 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.