Mount Ida Gold Mine
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Location | Menzies |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 29°09′S 120°46′E / 29.150°S 120.767°ECoordinates: 29°09′S 120°46′E / 29.150°S 120.767°E |
| Production | |
| Production | 1,646 |
| Financial year | 2007-08 |
| History | |
| Opened | 2007 |
| Closed | 2008 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Swan Gold Mining |
| Website | Swan Gold website |
| Year of acquisition | 2010 |
The Mount Ida Gold Mine is a gold mine located 86 km north-west of Menzies, Western Australia.
The mine was recently acquired by Swan Gold Mining Limited, having formerly been owned by Monarch Gold Mining Company Ltd, and went on care and maintenance when Monarch went into administration in June 2008. A second mine owned by Monarch, the Davyhurst Gold Mine, was also shut down, while the company's third mine, the Hill 50 Gold Mine, never entered production under Monarch's ownership.
Historically, Mount Ida produced over 290,000 ounces of gold from four underground mines, while the nearby Timoni Gold Mine produced 265,298 ounces until it was shut in 1965. All mining ceased in 1988.
The deposit was owned by Hamill Resources, which changed its name to International Gold Fields Limited in July 2003.
International Goldfields commenced mining activities at Mount Ida, dewatering and refurbishing the Timoni shaft and the upper levels of the old mine workings, but mining at Mount Ida was suspended again in February 2005.
After the purchase of the Cape Lambart Iron Ore project in October 2005, the company was renamed Cape Lambart Iron Ore Limited in November 2005. Cape Lambart spun off its gold assets, forming a new International Gold Fields Limited in April 2006.
In August 2006, International Gold Fields announced that it was planning to reopen the mine, but instead sold it in February 2007, when it was purchased by Monarch for A$4 million. Monarch announced a resource of 110,000 ounces of gold at the mine, at an average grade of 24 g/t, making Mount Ida a very high grade mine. Monarch's plan was to transport ore from Mount Ida to its Davyhurst processing facility.
Monarch recommenced mining at Davyhurst in June and at Mount Ida in July 2007, announcing its first gold pour the following month.
Mining at Mount Ida was carried out underground, methods consisting of a small scale rail mounted hand held development and stoping. The mine is accessed via the refurbished Timoni shaft.
The Davyhurst mine was placed in care and maintenance once more on 14 June 2008 because of continued underperformance while the Mount Ida operation remained in production. Michael Kiernan was appointed as managing director of Monarch and resigned as chairman of Territory Resources, the main creditor of Monarch, on 24 June 2008.
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