Despite the happy update from Primero of a fortnight back The West’s Adrian Rauso says it’s not all sunshine and roses out at Northern Star’s Fimiston
….(although in reading the story, it seems there might be a bit of nit picking going on for the sake of an eye-catching headline ..as in he went hunting for trouble and essentially found nothing untoward.)
Serious safety breaches and a supposed processing plant blackout is taking the shine off Northern Star Resources’ Kalgoorlie Super Pit as the massive mine undergoes an aggressive expansion.
The Fimiston open pit mine, colloquially termed the Super Pit, abuts the Kalgoorlie townsite and is the heart of Northern Star’s Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) operation — which is the crown jewel in the gold producer’s broader portfolio.
Northern Star is extending the Super Pit’s life to at least 2034 while concurrently pouring in $1.5 billion to upgrade the mine’s processing plant — the key component of the Fimiston mill.
The Super Pit has been a stellar performer for Northern Star since it took full control of the famed site in 2020, but teething troubles are starting to emerge at the operation as its owner charts a new growth pathway.
Safety issues are on the rise at the Super Pit.
WorkSafe issued one “improvement” notice at the mine during the second half of 2023, but the safety regulator has already slapped Northern Star with two improvement notices and two “prohibition” notices at the Super Pit so far this year.
Detail regarding why the notices were issued was not disclosed, however prohibition notices involve safety breaches that are more severe than those that would fall under an improvement notice.
According to the State Government, prohibition notices are intended to stop a workplace activity that involves a “serious risk” to health or safety.
Sources also tell The West Australian that earlier this month a contractor accidentally dug through an electricity line powering the Fimiston mill, causing a short circuit that took the mill’s processing plant offline for at least 12 hours.
Northern Star Resources did not comment directly on the safety notices, the processing plant incident, or potential ongoing impacts to the plant going forward.
A company spokesman instead said the Fimiston expansion involved construction works “not seen on site in several decades”.
“A strong commitment to safety is paramount for Northern Star because the safety and wellbeing of our people are integral to our continued success,‘” he said.
“The Fimiston mill expansion is a significant investment in KCGM’s future and involves a level of construction activity not seen on site in several decades.
“Heightened risk assessments and mitigations are key to maintaining our strong safety performance as we work with our contractors to safely and successfully deliver the mill expansion.”
Northern Star expects to produce between 840,000 and 900,000 from KCGM for the current financial year.
The Fimiston upgrade kicked off in June last year and is scheduled for completion in 2026.
Once construction is finished Northern Star hopes the mill will churn through 27 million tonnes of ore per year, more than doubling the current 13 million tonne annual capacity.
The Super Pit came to life in 1989 but the mineral deposit itself was originally discovered during the 1893 gold rush.
Barrick Gold and Newmont each bought a 50 per cent share in the mine during the early 2000s. Barrick’s half was sold to Saracen Mineral Holdings in 2019 and Newmont’s to Northern Star at the onset of 2020.
Northern Star would then own the mine outright after swallowing up Saracen in the latter half of 2020.
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