New plans for Perth Mint unveiled [Visual]

18/4/00
Western Australia's historic Perth Mint will undergo a major expansion, with the construction of a $13 million facility adjacent to the 100-year-old building in East Perth.
Premier Richard Court announced today that an 8,400sq.m, four-level building would expand the Mint's production facilities and house its sales administration, marketing and e-commerce divisions.
Construction will begin in June this year, with completion scheduled for July 2001.
"The new facility will allow the Mint to establish three separate precious metal blanking lines to meet the demands currently being placed on its blanking facilities," Mr Court said.
"The extension will enable the Mint to build on its international reputation as a world-class manufacturer of precious metal coins, medallions and collectables."
The chief executive officer of Gold Corporation, Mr Don Mackay-Coghill, said The Perth Mint already produced the largest range of minted products of any mint in the world, and its product base would continue to grow, following the recent launch of its new Collectables Division.
"The Perth Mint's international standing was acknowledged in January this year when it was named as the joint Mint of Honour, together with the Royal Australian Mint, at the World Money Fair in Basel, Switzerland,"
Mr Mackay-Coghill said.
"The two mints were honoured for their partnership in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Coin Program, a collection of 53 coins commemorating the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games."
Mr Court said The Perth Mint's involvement in the production of the official coins and victory medals for the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games was the most significant Western Australian involvement in the games.
"The Sydney 2000 Olympic Coin Program is budgeted to generate royalties of up to $20 million for the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, while providing a magnificent memento of the games," he said.
The designer of the 25 precious metal coins in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Coin Collection, Dr Stuart Devlin, who has designed coins for 36 countries, said The Perth Mint had played a crucial driving role in the creation and implementation of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Coin Program.
"I know of no mint in the world that could have done a more amazing job, from either a production or marketing point of view, and in such a demanding time frame," Dr Devlin said.
Australian-born Dr Devlin, who designed Australia's decimal currency in 1963-64, moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s and was appointed Goldsmith and Jeweller to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1982.
In the 1980s, he worked with The Perth Mint in the development of designs for several coin issues, including the first six years of the Australian Nugget gold coin, three mintages of the popular Holey Dollar and Dump silver coins and the Australian Kookaburra silver coins.
The Perth Mint opened as a branch of the British Royal Mint in June 1899, to refine the gold from Western Australia's newly discovered eastern goldfields and to turn it into sovereigns and bars for the Empire.
Ownership of the mint transferred to the Western Australian Government in 1970, and its activities were commercialised in 1986, under the control of Gold Corporation. The mint's refining activities were relocated to a modern facility in Newburn in 1990, enabling the expansion and modernisation of its coining facilities. Media contact: Justine Whittome 9222 9475

Premier Richard Court with the designer of the coins in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Coin Collection, Dr Stuart Devlin (left) and the Chief Executive Officer of the Gold Corporation Mr Don Mackay-Coghill, announcing expansion plans for the Perth Mint.