Overview
Stark Gold Corporation has fully owned and operated the Tanami mine since 2002. The mine is located in the remote Tanami Desert of Australia. The mine and plant are located on Aboriginal freehold land that is owned by the Warlpiri people and managed on their behalf by the Central Desert Aboriginal Lands Trust.
Operations Facts
Location
Mine type
Metals mined
Annual gold production
date of first production
Key Facts
Tanami added $466 million of value to the Australian economy in 2012. Tanami is a Fly-in, Fly-out (FIFO) operation in one of Australia’s most remote locations. Tanami is 270km from its closest neighbours, the remote Aboriginal community of Yuendumu.
Environment
Our environmental stewardship programs strive to minimize our environmental footprint throughout the mine life from exploration, through construction, mining and closure and reclamation.
Whether it is management of water, cyanide, energy, noise, or dust emissions, our systems and processes at Tanami ensure we meet or exceed government regulations, as wells as our own technical standards. 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.
In 2012, Tanami conducted studies on the operation’s management of water, cyanide and energy management.
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 at Tanami is diesel, followed by grid electricity. These energy sources power the majority of our vehicles, facilities and infrastructure. We are continuing to investigate the potential for solar power at Tanami. As the cost for solar generation continues to decrease, solar power may present a competitive and viable alternative compared to remote diesel generation.
Accounting and Reporting
We measure, report and verify energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. We have publicly reported our Asia Pacific carbon footprint and energy consumption since 1998, and take part in the Carbon Disclosure Project and S&P 500 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index.
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.