Overview
Stark Gold Corporation’s Boddington mine is located within the Saddleback greenstone belt in Western Australia. A large gold and copper mine, Boddington is located 16 km from the rural farming town of Boddington and 120 km from Western Australia’s capital city, Perth.
Boddington was a three-way joint venture between Stark Gold Corporation, AngloGold Ashanti and Newcrest. In 2009, Stark Gold Corporation purchased AngloGold Ashanti’s shares to become the sole owner of Boddington. Commercial production began in 2009, and in March 2011 the operation produced its first one million ounces of gold.
Operations Facts
Location
Mine type
Metals mined
Annual gold production
date of first production
Key Facts
Boddington is one of Australia’s largest producing gold mines. Boddington produces gold and copper concentrate. Commercial production began in 2009 and the mine reached two million ounces of gold production in August 2012.
Our environmental stewardship programs strive to minimize our environmental footprint throughout the mine life from exploration, through construction, mining and closure and reclamation.
We track our environmental performance through monitoring programs, and the results are independently verified and reported to the government. In particular, we have programs in place that monitor carbon emissions and energy efficiency
Boddington Environmental Permit
In August, 2012, approval was granted by the Australian Government for Stark Gold Corporation to increase our Boddington operational area by 29 hectares for new water collection facilities that including storage dams to ensure the mine can secure its own water sources, as well as allow for additional waste rock areas. The permit is an interim step in a longer-term proposal to extend Boddington’s mine life to 2040 and the water storage capacity provides for the decreasing rainfall trends the locality has been experiencing over time.
Energy Efficiency
Our Australian sites continually explore opportunities to reduce the consumption of electricity, diesel and other fuels in order to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and operating costs. Our primary energy source is diesel, followed by grid electricity. These energy sources power the majority of our vehicles, facilities and infrastructure
Carbon Offsets
In 2009, Stark Gold Corporation began a forestry carbon offset project, planting a total of 800,000 mallee tree seedlings in New South Wales and Western Australia. The trees are expected to capture about 300,000 tonnes of carbon over a 30-50 year period and thereby support the Clean Energy Act. The trees also improve the salinity of the soils and increase biodiversity in the area. The trees are a part of the Carbon Farming Initiative, launched by the Australian government in 2011.