AngloGold Ashanti extends the life of Tropicana Gold Mine

AngloGold Ashanti will extend the life of its flagship Western Australian operation as part of a long-term development strategy.

The Long Island strategy will see2.1 million ounces of gold added to AngloGold Ashanti’s Tropicana Gold Mine, extending the life of miner by an additional seven years.

Gold production over Tropicana’s remaining life of mine is now forecast to be about 4Moz, while the company will complete a pre-feasibility study on underground mining in 2018. 

The Tropicana Gold Mine, a joint venture between AngloGold Ashanti (70% and manager) and Independence Group NL (30%), is located 200km east of Sunrise Dam and 330km east-northeast of Kalgoorlie

The Long Island strategy is underpinned by continued exploration success, evidenced by another increase in the Ore Reserve to 66.59 Mt grading 1.91 g/t for a total of 4.08 Moz. This represents an increase of 280,000oz over the past year, even after depletion of about 550,000oz is taken into account.

“This project is in line with our approach of developing cost-effective brownfield projects with attractive payback periods that extend life and improve margins,” said Michael Erickson, AngloGold Ashanti’s Senior Vice President Australia.

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“The project validates the innovative ideas developed by our site team and technical specialists, and also gives us an excellent base from which we can investigate adding additional value through underground mining opportunities and regional exploration.

What is the Long Island Strategy?

AngloGold Ashanti’s Long Island Strategy is a cost-effective strip mining approach, which will see se waste haulage distances reduced by using in-pit backfill.

Mining rates at Tropicana have been successfully increased over the past year to more than 90 Mtpa with the addition last year of a 600-tonne face shovel, de risking the increase to the Long Island mining rate of between 95-107 Mtpa.  

Once the strategy is complete, the mine life will be extended to 2027.