Summit

The Summit underground gold mine in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia is now owned by Focus Minerals Limited who's major shareholder is the giant Chinese mining company, Shandong Gold Group. Focus Minerals Limited acquired the mine from its former owner Crescent Gold in 2011.

The Summit Mine has Been Closed Since 2009

The Summit underground mining operation is known as the Lancefield Project and it entails the de-watering of the old underground mine before production can be re-commenced. Mining in the form of open pit and underground working has taken part in this locality since the 1890's. The area was mined by Western Mining Corporation (WMC) between 1890 and 1994. Crescent Gold purchased the Lancefield Deeps from Metix Resources Limited in 2009 and immediately renamed the deposit ìSummit.î The mine has been closed since 1994.

Summit is Part of the Laverton Gold Mining Operations

The Summit Mine is part of the Laverton Gold Operations that include the; Sickle, Euro, Grouse, West Laverton, Admiral Hill, Castaway, Lord Byron and the Fish gold deposits, as well as the Laverton Gold Processing Plant. The total project is planning on producing 2.1 million tonnes of gold ore annually.

Water has to be Pumped From the Summit Mine Before Re- commissioning can Occur

Before the feasibility of re-opening the Summit underground mine is complete the water in the mine has to be pumped along a 1,100 metre pipeline from the Summit Mine main shaft to the South Lancefield Open Pit that is now closed. The water level in the Summit Mine is located 135 metres below the surface with an estimated volume of 1.58 GL.
The water will be removed from the Summit Mine with a 10 inch deep well bore pump that will be lowered down the main shaft to a depth of 300 metres, the 100 volt power needed to run the pump will be supplied by a 750KVA diesel generator.

Summit Mine had Previously Produced Over One Million Ounces of Gold

Once mining resumes at the Summit underground mine it is expected to produce between 50,000 and 70,000 ounces of gold a year. Before the mine was closed in 1994 it had produced more than one million ounces of gold, but production ceased owing to the low gold price at the time that was paying only $380 an ounce.

Summit Mine is a Long Term Development

The re-opening of the Summit Mine is being looked upon as being a long term development asset. The company is also considering building its own gold concentrator at its Barnicoat Plant and having the concentrate treated at the nearby Granny Smith facilities that is used under an agreement with Barrick Gold.

Large Gold Reserves Back Re-opening of Summit Gold Mine

In 2010 the then Laverton Project owner, Crescent, announced a 140 percent increase in its gold reserves in the area. It stated it had discovered a probable gold ore reserve of 6.5 million tonnes grading at 2.1 grams a tonne that would realise 445,000 ounces of contained gold. This announcement increased its previously stated reserve by 260,000 ounces
from the previous estimate of 185,000 ounces.