Gold in Australia

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Australia is a Gold-producing Country.

The following Gold Mines are located in Australia : Agnew, Ballarat East, Bannockburn, Beaconsfield, Bellevue, Bendigo, Big Bell, Bluebird (Meekatharra Operations), Bounty, Brocks Creek, Bronzewing, Bullabulling, Bullfinch, Cadia, Cadia - Ridgeway, Carosue Dam, Chalice, Challenger, Cowal, Cracow, Dalgaranga, Darlot-Centenary, Davyhurst, Fimiston, Fortnum, Gidgee, Golden Cities, Granites, The (Tanami Operations), Granny Smith, Hedges, Henty, Higginsville, Jundee, Kalgoorlie JV, Kaltails, Kanowna Belle, Kidston, Kundana, Labouchere, Lawlers, Marvel Loch (Southern Cross Operations), Maud Creek, Mount Leyshon, Mount Magnet, Mount Monger/Randalls, Mount Morgans, New Celebration, Nolan's, Norseman, Paddington, Pajingo (Vera-Nancy), Paraburdoo - Gold, Peak, Plutonic, Red Dome, Reedy, Sons of Gwalia/Gwalia Deeps, South Kalgoorlie, St Ives, Stawell, Sunrise Dam, Tanami, Tarmoola, Telfer, Timbarra, Union Reefs, White Foil, Wiluna, Yandal, Yandan/Mt Coolon, Yilgarn Star and Youanmi (amongst others).

Australia is active in the following commodities : Bulk Concentrate, Cobalt, Copper, Gold, Lead, Nickel, PGM, Silver, Uranium Oxide and Zinc (amongst others).

Gold Mine Production Cost Reports & Databases

Last year the resources industry has experienced unprecedented rising real-terms costs for the key inputs of skilled and specialist labour, consumables and equipment. This was particularly noticeable in the inflated prices for tyres, mining contractors, cyanide and other reagents. Oil-related consumables, transport costs and steel products also rose strongly.

After the financial crisis and recession beginning a radically different economic environment has emerged. High prices for gold in 2008 and 2009 has assisted gold miners to maintain good margins, and contributed mightily to combined copper-gold operations profits. Costs for key inputs may now well decline. Labour costs will ease as the pool of unemployed mining labour begins to expand, fed by redundancies in the non-gold sector. Many skills are transferable from mining in other commodities.

What does this mean for 2009 and beyond? The market prices of the by-product commodities (principally lead, zinc, copper, silver and molybdenum) have declined significantly and this will provide an upward lift to cost pressures to counteract any decline in mining costs. Many gold mines are very sensitive to changes in by-product revenues, and if sustained then some mines may become uneconomic even at current gold prices.

In the mining industry many future expansions and projects are being deferred, delayed or simply cancelled with no reasonable likelihood of proceeding until firm evidence of demand growth restoration. This is exacerbated by the absence of lending on any real scale, and the collapse of equity markets funding. Gold projects will be affected by this new selectivity, though perhaps not as comprehensively as other commodities.

Our Gold Mine Production Cost Report covers the great majority of world production. AME benchmarks gold mines to highlight changes in costs, to enable profitability to be assessed on a mine by mine or company by company basis and to identify opportunities. This study covers 162 gold mines in 31 countries. The mines costed cover 87% of the Western World's estimated gold mine output of 53.3 million ounces.

Gold Mine Cash Cost Breakdown

We benchmark all major operations to highlight changes, assess profitability and identify opportunities. This research provides:

Production and financial performance over the next ten years with five years of history.
Detailed cost breakdowns by project for up to 30 major components such as process technology, production, labour, energy usage, royalties and transport costs.
Access to published reports and AME�s Excel-based Cost Modeller via AME Direct, allowing users to change assumptions, analyse cost sensitivities, as well as introduce and compare new projects and operations:

Change operating cost, energy cost assumptions
Alter exchange rates for any producing country
Change freight rates
Override detailed cost assumptions for individual operations
Introduce new operations or projects

The database ensures access to accurate and timely information for most of the world�s operations. Our analysts conduct thorough examinations of well-sourced data to provide valuable answers, saving you time and effort. Specifically, our work is based on detailed analysis of flow sheets, exhaustive company research, and ongoing revisions supplemented by mine visits and technical contact with individual operations.

Gold Methodology - Mine Cost Data Sheets

Details of the costing models generated for each production "mine" (single mine, group of mines or project) are presented. Both past and forecast production and costs are generated for each of the years between 2002 and 2012 in which the mine was or will be active. For reasons of layout, however, the cost data sheets show the results only for 2002, 2004-2008 inclusive, 2010 and 2012.

The output comprises five pages per mine:

Page 1 - Total Cost Analysis by Commodity showing per oz costs and total costs for mine site cash costs, by product credits, offsite costs, royalties, total cash costs, depreciation and total production costs. This analysis is shown for both gold and each of the by products. For example if silver is a by-product then the cost of producing an ounce of silver is shown with gold and other products produced forming the by-product credit to determine the cost of producing silver.
Page 2 - Graphs showing 2007 net cash operating cost and total cash cost profile for the period 2002 to 2012.
Page 3 - Mine Site Unit Production Costs per tonne and total US$ costs for open pit mining, underground mining, ore reclaimed from stockpiles and processing unit costs divided into crushing, milling flotation and processing
Page 4 - Processing analysis showing ore processed, grades, metal production, concentrate analysis and payable metals for gold and all by products
Page 5 - Cashflow Analysis by Commodity and assumptions used for metal prices, exchange rates and labour numbers and average per head labour costs.

Consulting

We are frequently commissioned to provide:

Market assessments for debt information memorandums, feasibility studies and initial public offerings.
Project audits and reviews involving both technical and market reports.
Analysis of end-use markets for specific commodities.
Cost benchmarking analysis for mines, smelters and refineries.
Advice and independent assessments on trade sales or public equity issues.
Strategic direction and focus for acquisitions.

Critical Mass in People and Resources � Our structured methodology allows us to rapidly undertake assignments and offer consistently rigorous work. This is possible as we employ a considerable team of engineers, geologists, metallurgists, economists, computer programmers and market experts. For nearly 40 years we have built widespread recognition among major mining companies, banks and trading houses, reflected in our increasing market share.

Close Industry Connections � Our analysts offer practical intelligence and advice due to years of experience in the mining industry. Consequently, our integrity and credibility is unrivalled when it comes to evaluations of mines, beneficiation projects and end-user plants.

A Comprehensive Global View � Our technical associations and international contacts allow us to provide you with broad, in-depth and forward-thinking research.

We are a leading independent research firm. For nearly 40 years we have served most major corporations active in the metals, mining and energy sectors.

The heart of our organisation is based around the talents of industry-experienced engineers, metallurgists, geologists, scientists, software developers, market experts, accountants and mineral economists with decades of experience, intellectual maturity and consulting expertise.

We offer

Independence� Our perspective is based upon offering detailed material flow analysis from mines to consumers, including all the interlinked beneficiation and transport stages.
Asian knowledge � Due to our long history in the region we offer an insight into the ASEAN countries and China - the engine of economic growth and metal demand. This is in contrast to the usual Northern Hemisphere view.
Maturity � Since 1971 we have developed a huge history of people, companies, projects and acquisitions.
Critical mass � We employ many skilled industry practitioners, have developed powerful databases and have an integrated global coverage.
Comprehensiveness � We have specialist teams for LME metals research (such as copper, and nickel) and for steel raw materials, steel, and energy products.
Accuracy � We are disciplined in capturing knowledge by undertaking site visits, attending industry conferences and meeting company management.

AME Direct

AME Direct is a secure and powerful delivery system on your PC. You can automatically search and download just the data needed as opposed to pages of information.

AME Direct offers:

speed � we utilise rapid packet technology.
ease of use � filter tools that allow intuitive navigation.
interaction � the Cost Modeller software encourages you to change key costing variables �on the fly� and instantly observe the results. You can also merge datasheets to compare specific information over a number of industries and benchmark new projects.
timeliness � our analysis and data is continually updated with new releases.
portability � our research is stored on your PC and can also be retrieved
off-line, as our research is stored after each visit to our site.
comprehensive coverage � depending on the services you buy it covers most major industries from steel to gold from coal to copper.