Nobles Nob relaunch promises golden days ahead for the Barkly
The Northern Territory just opened its eighth operating mine. Read why it’s big.
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Large scale gold mining has returned to Tennant Creek after a 20 year absence, bringing with it investment, jobs and hope for a resources revival in the Barkly and NT.
South African miners joined their Australian associates at Thursday’s opening of Pan African Resources-Tennant Mines’ Nobles Nob gold mine and processing plant, an almost $100 million investment in what once was one of Australia’s premier gold precincts.
The $94 million project sparked about 80 jobs during construction, with at least another 160 expected to flow during production.
With gold resources of 1.3 million ounces and a two-year forward-looking plan to mine and process copper, Tennant Mines’ general manager Peter Main hopes the initial eight-year mine life forecast at Nobles could blow out to decades.
His confidence is buoyed by the investment by mid-tier South African-Anglo company Pan African Resources, which last year paid a reported $77.4 million to be Tennant Mines’ 100 per cent shareholder.
“We think there’s 30 years for us here, 20-30 years,” Mr Main said.
“We’ve said we have eight years life at stage one but we’ve just found another 600,000 ounces which we’ll bring into reserve probably in the next 12 months.”
Initial production will be about 50,000 ounces of gold each year through processing existing stockpiles, before eventually establishing open-cut and underground mines, with around 100,000 ounces produced each year over the medium term.
Pan African Resources chairman Keith Spencer said Nobles was the company’s first mine out of Africa.
“It’s a privilege for Pan African to be operating in Australia and a milestone for the group,” Mr Spencer said.
“We see the investment as opening the door to opportunities, and look forward to a golden future here at Tennant Creek.”
NT Mining Minister Gerard Maley welcomed the revitalisation
“This is a huge milestone for the Territory and an even bigger one for our Barkly region, highlighting a significant boost for regional economic development as our government rebuilds our economy,” Mr Maley said.
Barkly MLA Steve Edgington, who has worked alongside Tennant Mines to get the project up, said it was “a turning point” for the Barkly.
“The construction of this new processing plant has unlocked Tennant Creek’s rich gold resources,” he said.
“It’s a great result for our mining industry and a massive win for the Barkly.”
The Nobles revival was launched four years ago, when project backers sensed an opportunity to revive one of Australia’s richest gold mines on the back of surging gold prices.
The spot price for an ounce of gold on Thursday was about $5150, compared to $2500 in June 2020.
The asset is now the Northern Territory’s eighth operational mine and the only one currently in the Barkly.
It is the NT’s second gold mine, along with Newmont’s Granites operation.
A gold and copper processing plant was attained and relocated from the Great Australia Mine in Cloncurry to Nobles.
Tennant Mines bought the 85-room El Dorado hotel in Tennant Creek for worker accommodation and spent well in excess of $1 million in upgrades.
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