The Granites gold mine explained

The Granites
Pushpin Map:Northern Territory
Pushpin Label:The Granites
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the Northern Territory
Coordinates:-20.5392°N 130.312°W
Place:Tanami, Northern Territory[1]
Subdivision Type:Territory
Country:Australia
Owner:Newmont Goldcorp
Products:gold

The Granites, also known as the Tanami Mine, is a gold mine in the Tanami Desert of the Northern Territory of Australia. It has been operated by Newmont Mining since 2002. The mine is about north-west of Alice Springs.

History

The first European person to find and recognise gold in the Tanami Desert was Allan Arthur Davidson, who arrived in the area in 1898 and continued prospecting until 1901.[2] [3] He took the name Tanami for the region from local Aboriginal people who visited his camp. "On inquiry [he] learned that the native name of the rockholes (from [which the party obtained water] was Tanami, and that they "never died," he said. Davidson showed the gold specimens to these Aboriginal people, who recognised it and described "mobs of similar stone to the east, together with a large creek containing plenty of water and fish. This they said was "two days' sleep to the south of east".[4]

In 1936 anthropologist Charles P. Mountford, during an expedition with organised by the University of Adelaide's board for anthropological research, photographed the activities of aboriginal people drinking from the waterholes,[5] knapping found fragments of bottle glass to make spearheads,[6] and spinning strings from animal fur.[7]

Recent history

Newmont purchased the mine in 2002.

In 2016, Newmont Mining undertook a $120 million upgrade of the mine, constructing a new decline and processing facilities, taking the mine's life to 2027.[8] [9]

On 25 June 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, a worker tested positive for COVID-19 sending the mine into lockdown. About 750 FIFO (fly-in/fly-out) workers onsite were affected, while 900 who had left the site recently had to go into isolation.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Place Names Register Extract for "The Granites Mine" . NT Place Names Register . Northern Territory Government . 3 June 2019.
  2. News: Australian exploration. . . XLIV . 13,468 . South Australia . 17 December 1901 . 16 October 2016 . 7 . National Library of Australia.
  3. Web site: Obituary - Allan Arthur Davidson - Obituaries Australia . 2024-06-21 . oa.anu.edu.au.
  4. News: THE TANAMI GOLDFIELD. . . XXIV . 1,235 . Western Australia . 28 August 1909 . 16 October 2016 . 51 . National Library of Australia.
  5. Web site: Aboriginal boy drinking at a rockhole / waterhole, The Granites, N.T. . 2023-08-22 . State Library of South Australia . en.
  6. Web site: Glass spearhead held on foot, The Granites, N.T. . 2023-08-22 . State Library of South Australia . en.
  7. Web site: Spinning fur string, close up of the spindle, The Granites, N.T. . 2023-08-22 . State Library of South Australia . en.
  8. News: Brain. Caddie. $120 million expansion for Tanami Desert gold mine. 16 October 2016. ABC Rural. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 November 2015.
  9. News: Curtain. Carl. Newmont's Tanami gold mine completes 3.2-kilometre underground tunnel, pushing ahead with major expansion. 16 October 2016. ABC Rural. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 5 May 2016.
  10. News: NT worker at Granites gold mine tests positive to Covid as 1,600 ordered into isolation . 28 June 2021 . The Guardian . Guardian Australia . 26 June 2021 . en-AU.