The Mt Ida Gold Project is a major mining development that will open up an underexploited area in the WA Goldfields to the north of Kalgoolie.  As part of this very extensive and diverse project, Aurenne Mt Ida Pty Ltd is constructing a new 1.2mmtpa gold processing plant, associated offices, state of the art construction camp along with its own 1600m aerodrome. 

 

Aurenne holds an extensive tenement package in the area and whilst the near-term plan is focussed on the 10 known deposits that have currently been evaluated, exploration work is ongoing to extend the project life.

 

The Mt Ida Gold Project currently comprises 10 separate deposits divided into the two regions of Bottle Creek and Mt Ida.

 

• Bottle Creek region consists of Emu, Southwark, Cascade, VB North, VB and Boags

• Mt Ida and Quinns region consists of Tim’s Find, Shepards Bush, Forrest Belle and Boudie Rat

 

Bottle Creek was mined by Norgold Ltd between 1988 and 1989 but was prematurely shutdown due to a pit wall failure and a declining gold price in 1990. The project produced 93,000oz Au from two open pits, VB and Boags, across 18 months of operation. Open pit mining was carried out at the Quinn Hills prospect in the late 1990s with production completed in 1997 with the development of shallow open pits at Boudie Rat and Forrest Belle. This ore was treated at the Bannockburn gold processing mill approximately 75 kilometres to the northeast.

 

The Aurenne Group took a final investment decision on the Mt Ida Gold Project in September 2021 and awarded GR Engineering Services the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the construction of the gold processing plant on the Mt Ida Gold Project site. The $73mn contract was awarded in September 2021 with plant commissioning expected to commence in March 2023.

 

The Mt Ida Gold Project will be Aurenne’s flagship activity over the next 5 to 10 years and seeks to set a new  industry standard in project design and management.