It’s pouring gold at Cowal
The first gold has been produced at the Cowal Gold Project.
The gold was poured on Sunday afternoon.
It is the first of over two million ounces of gold expected to be produced from Barrick’s newest mine over the next decade.
The Cowal Project brings $400 million worth of investment to New South Wales.
Over 720 men and women have been employed during the construction of the project.
Most of the 200 permanent staff employed in the mine’s operations have already started work.
Present at the first gold pour was Bill Shallvey, Community Relations Manager for Cowal. “This is an historic day for the region – and one many people have worked hard to bring about over twenty three years.”
Exploration for gold started at Cowal in 1981. The first discovery of a viable ore body called Endeavour 42 was in 1988. Following two Commissions Of Inquiry in the nineties, Development Consent for the project was granted in 1999. Construction of the mine and its process plant started in early 2004.
General Manager of the Cowal Gold Project, Larry Radford said this is the fourth mine Barrick had opened on schedule in the past year. “This is great news for the State of NSW and the local community.”
“The mine means a flow on of economic activity for the local area that will amount to many tens of millions of dollars each year.”
“Already we are seeing Cowal provide opportunities that encourage the sons and daughters of local families to return to the area to work,” Larry Radford said.
Bill Shallvey has worked on the project since the early days of exploration in the 1980s. Bill celebrated the first gold pour with a strong cup of tea and a big grin. “The community and our employees have been working towards this for a long, long time. It has been rewarding to be part of a dedicated and professional team on site, and to live and work in such a supportive community.”
Cowal is 43 kilometres from West Wyalong – a town originally built on a gold mining boom after the first discovery of gold by the Neeld family.
The 2.5 million ounces of gold reserves at Cowal is more than the total volume of gold extracted during the gold boom nearby in the region of West Wyalong. That gold boom began in the 1890s and lasted till the First World War.
Media release courtesy of Barrick Australia.