Goldstrike mine
Goldstrike Mine seen in 2012, from an altitude of 38,000 feet. Green pond is a large tailings dam.
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| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Eureka County |
| State | Nevada |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 40°58′54″N 116°22′44″W / 40.981583°N 116.378964°WCoordinates: 40°58′54″N 116°22′44″W / 40.981583°N 116.378964°W |
| Production | |
| Products | Gold |
| Production | 1,096,000 ounces (31,100 kg) |
| Financial year | 2016 |
| History | |
| Opened | 1975 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Barrick Gold |
| Website | Goldstrike webpage |
| Year of acquisition | 1986 |
Goldstrike is a gold mine in Eureka County in north-eastern Nevada. It is located on the Carlin Trend, a prolific gold mining district. It is owned and operated by the world's largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold. Goldstrike is the largest gold mine in North America. Since Barrick acquired Goldstrike in 1986 it has produced 42 million ounces of gold.
The first discovery of gold in the Goldstrike property was in 1962 by Atlas Minerals. Gold was first mined from the upper, well-oxidized portion of what became the Post deposit in 1975 by PanCana Minerals Ltd., in a small open-pit heap leach operation. In 1978, Western State Minerals Corporation entered into a joint venture (JV) with PanCana. The JV delineated ore reserves for the Post deposit in 1986. Barrick acquired 100% ownership of the property in December 1986, and mining started in 1987.
The Goldstrike mine complex (including the Betze-Post-Screamer and Meikle-Rodeo deposits) is the largest Carlin-type mine in the world. The Goldstrike mine adjoins Newmont Mining's Carlin mine complex. Goldstrike is northwest of the Carlin mine on the Carlin Trend.
Like most Carlin type gold deposits in Nevada the gold was epithermally deposited in carbonate or silicate sedimentary rocks. The source of the heat was magmatic but the exact mechanism is still under debate. The Betze-Post deposits are up to 6,000 feet (1,800 m) long, 600 feet (180 m) thick and 800 feet (240 m) wide. In 2007 the average processed gold grade was 0.136 troy ounces (4.2 g) per ton of ore, with a recovery rate of 85.5%.
The Goldstrike complex consists of three distinct mines: the large Betze-Post open-pit mine, and the Meikle and Rodeo underground mines. The ore from all three mines is milled, oxidixed in either a roaster or an autoclave, then leached in either a carbon-in-leach (CIL) cyanidation circuit or a calcium thiosulfate circuit. The two treatment facilities treat ores from both the open pit and underground mines. Recovered gold is processed into doré on-site and shipped to outside refineries for processing into gold bullion.
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Wikipedia