Granny Smith gold mine - Brief history
The Goanna and Granny Smith deposits were discovered in 1979 by CSR Ltd. In 1988, Placer Pacific acquired CSR's 60% interest with the remaining 40% held by Delta Gold NL.
In 1989, mining commenced in the Granny Smith pit and continued in subsequent years with the development of the Goanna pit, the Windich pit and nearby satellite pits. In 1992, the Keringal and Sunrise deposits were discovered. The Wallaby deposit was discovered in 1998.
Barrick acquired 100% of Placer Dome shares on 20 January 2006. The Wallaby open pit was mined from October 2001 until December 2006 and produced 13.6Mt at 3.44g/t Au for 1.5Moz of gold. Underground mining at Wallaby commenced in December 2005 and to date 13.8Mt at 5.81g/t for 2.58Moz has been produced.
Gold Fields acquired 100% of the Granny Smith gold mine on 1 October 2013 as part of the purchase of the Yilgarn South operations.
| Granny Smith: schematic Wallaby ore zone model looking west |
 |