Where is gold mined in Australia?
As mentioned, Australia and Russia are tied as the second largest gold producers across the globe.
But where is gold mined in Australia? One of the nation's more prolific gold-mining areas is Western Australia, which according to the Fraser Institute is one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world. Unsurprisingly, the area has attracted major miners like Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) and BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BLT).
Within Western Australia, the Pilbara region has renewed interest and helped increase the country’s consistent gold output. Covering more than half a million square kilometres, the Pilbara area is one of the most resource-rich regions in the state. And while the Pilbara area is better known as an iron ore hotspot, it's currently in the midst of a small gold rush thanks to a major discovery in 2017 by Novo Resources (TSXV:NVO,OTCQX:NSRPF) and Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV,OTCQB:ARTTF).
In fact, gold was the third largest commodity in Western Australia by value from 2022 to 2023, behind liquefied natural gas and lithium; sales came in a record AU$18.6 billion during that time.
Overall, Western Australia itself represents close to 60 percent of the country’s total gold output, and some geologists have compared the geology of the Pilbara Craton with South Africa’s Witwatersrand Basin, which is home to the Earth’s largest known gold reserves and is responsible for over 40 percent of worldwide gold production.
Both the Pilbara and Witwatersrand are similar in age and composition, sitting on top of the Archean granite-greenstone basement. The Pilbara area hosts numerous small mesothermal gold deposits containing conglomerate gold — mineralisation known to hold large, high-grade gold nuggets.
What are the top Australian gold mines?
Below is a guided tour of the 10 largest gold mines in Australia in terms of gold output, as per Aurum Analytics' Q3 2023 report on Australian and New Zealand gold operations.
1. Boddington
Newmont (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM) became the sole owner of this open-pit gold and copper mine in 2009. The asset is located 16 kilometres from Boddington, Western Australia, and in calendar year 2022 produced 798,000 ounces of the yellow metal, as well as 227,000 gold equivalent ounces of other metals. In the first three quarters of 2023, Boddington has put forth 589,000 ounces of gold.
Boddington also ranks as the fourth largest gold-producing mine in the world. In the years ahead, Newmont expects gold production at the mine to decline in 2024 and 2025 due to lower grade ore and stripping in the South pit.
2. Cadia Valley
Now owned and operated by Newmont following its acquisition of Newcrest Mining in November, Cadia is made up of the Cadia East underground panel cave mine and the Ridgeway underground mine (currently on care and maintenance), which produce gold doré bars from a gravity circuit and gold-rich copper concentrates from a flotation circuit.
Cadia has in years past been the biggest mine in Australia in terms of production. However, during the 2022 fiscal year, the asset's output of 561,000 ounces of gold was down significantly from 765,000 ounces in 2021 and 843,000 ounces in 2020. The drop in production was due to the ongoing Cadia expansion project. This past March, Newcrest announced the completion of the two-stage plant expansion, with production ramping up toward throughput of 35 million tonnes of ore per year.
For the first three quarters of 2023, gold output at Cadia Valley reached 408,086 ounces. The mine is one of the lowest-cost producers on this list.
3. Tropicana
Tropicana is co-owned by AngloGold Ashanti (ASX:AGG,NYSE:AU,OTC Pink:AULGF), which owns 70 percent, and Regis Resources (ASX:RRL,OTC Pink:RGRNF), which owns the remaining 30 percent.
The mine spans 3,600 square kilometres and stretches over close to 160 kilometres in strike length along the Yilgarn Craton and Fraser Range mobile belt collision zone. The regional geology is dominated by granitoid rocks; it is a rare example of a large gold deposit within high-grade metamorphic rocks that have undergone widespread recrystallisation and melting.
In 2022, Tropicana produced 306,000 ounces of gold with an all-in sustaining cost of AU$1,014 per ounce. The gold miner has already surpassed its previous annual output in the first three quarters of 2023, putting out 314, 201 ounces of gold on higher grades.
As part of AngloGold Ashanti's commitment to lowering its carbon footprint, a 62 megawatt wind and solar facility is currently under construction at Tropicana.
4. Tanami
Tanami has been fully owned and operated by Newmont since 2002 and is located in the Northern Territory's remote Tanami Desert. Both the mine and the plant are located on Aboriginal freehold land that is owned by the Warlpiri people and managed on their behalf by the Central Desert Aboriginal Lands Trust.
Tanami is a fly-in, fly-out operation in one of Australia’s most remote locations. The asset is 270 kilometres away from its closest neighbours, the remote Aboriginal community of Yuendumu.
In 2022, Tanami produced 484,000 ounces of gold and reported 5.7 million ounces of gold reserves. For the first three quarters of 2023, the mine's output has totalled 312,000 ounces of the yellow metal.
The Tanami Expansion 2 project is currently underway; it will potentially extend the mine's life to 2040 and increase its annual gold production by approximately 150,000 to 200,000 ounces. The project has an expected commercial production date of late 2025.
5. KCGM
Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST,OTC Pink:NESRF) owns Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM), which includes the Fimiston open pit — also known as the Super Pit — the Mount Charlotte underground mine and the Fimiston and Gidji processing plants. The operations reached the milestone of 50 million ounces of gold production in 2019.
The KCGM operations were previously jointly owned by Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:ABX) and Newmont until both companies sold their interests; the operations were handed entirely to Northern Star in June 2021.
KCGM is located in the legendary Golden Mile, which was once reputed to be the richest square mile on Earth. In 2022, KCGM
produced 486,001 ounces of gold. As for 2023, the operations have produced 299,650 ounces of the yellow metal over the first three quarters. In mid-2023, Northern Star launched a
AU$1.5 billion expansion project at KCGM.
6. St. Ives
Owned and operated by Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI,JSE:GFI), St. Ives consists of multiple open-pit and underground mines near Kambalda in Western Australia.
In Gold Fields’ 2022 annual report, the company reported that St. Ives produced 376,700 ounces of the yellow metal for the period. Production is down slightly this year in the first three quarters of 2023 on lower grades and labour challenges, coming in at 262,400 ounces.
7. Telfer
Another mine once owned by Newcrest and now part of Newmont's portfolio, Telfer is located in the Eastern Pilbara and is one of the oldest mines in Australia. Between 1975 and 2000, the asset produced approximately 6 million ounces of gold. While operations were suspended in 2000 due to high operating costs, production was able to restart in 2004, and the mine has since produced over 5 million ounces, with 408,000 ounces of gold in the 2022 financial year alone. The mine also produces copper, with output of 14 tonnes in 2022.
The Telfer mine has produced 260,195 ounces of the yellow metal in the first three quarters of 2023, mainly driven down by lower mill throughput due to planned maintenance activities.
8. Gruyere
Gruyere, which is a 50/50 joint venture between Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) and Gold Fields, is a high-grade, low-cost, open-pit gold mine located in Western Australian. Discovered in 2013, Gruyere was one of the largest gold discoveries in the country. Today, it has a current mine life of more than 10 years.
In 2022, Gruyere delivered a record annual gold production of 314,647 ounces. The mine's production in the first three quarters of 2023 came to 247,325 ounces of gold, with Q3 hitting a record quarterly production of 88,668 ounces.
9. Jundee
Jundee is located in the increasingly sought-after region of Western Australia and is owned by Northern Star after the miner purchased it from Newmont in 2014 for AU$82.5 million. The property is well known due to the fact that it solely uses underground mining. Along with Cadia Valley, Jundee is also one of the lowest-cost gold producers on this list.
The asset produced 310,225 ounces of gold in 2022, and the first three quarters of 2023 saw 231,777 ounces produced at Jundee.
Northern Star is on track to increase its renewable power for its operations at Jundee; this is set to include "24 MW of wind, 16.9 MWp of solar, and 12 MW/13.4 MWh of battery energy storage." Once online, about 56 percent of power for Jundee will come from renewable energy sources.
10. Fosterville
Fosterville, which is owned by Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM,NYSE:AEM), is a high-grade, low-cost underground gold mine located in the state of Victoria. The Fosterville mine features growing gold production at increasingly high grades, as well as extensive in-mine and district-scale exploration potential.
The mine has been operational since 1989, with a lifetime production of over 16 million ounces of gold. The asset produced 338,327 ounces of gold in 2022, and 228,161 ounces in the first three quarters of 2023.
How to invest in Australian gold stocks?
Like all publicly listed stocks, gold companies issue shares that are available for investors to trade. When you purchase shares of a gold stock, you are essentially purchasing a stake in the company.
Depending on your risk tolerance, you might choose to invest in gold-mining stocks, or gold companies at the development or exploration stage. In general, established companies that are producing metal are more stable and less risky than smaller companies that are still exploring for gold or building a mine.
Although no investing strategy is 100 percent foolproof, experts often recommend gold stocks as a way to hedge exposure to general stock market. That's because they tend to move in tandem with the price of gold.
For more ideas in how to invest in Australian gold stocks, check out our articles on the biggest ASX-listed gold stocks and the top-gaining ASX gold stocks year-to-date.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2019.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
