Official opening of Kanowna Belle goldmine

19/11/93

Premier Richard Court said today that Western Australia's position as one of the world's leading gold exporters would be given a major boost by the investment of $200 million in the Kanowna Belle gold mine in the Eastern Goldfields.

The Premier said the Kanowna Belle operation - a joint venture between Delta Gold and North Broken Hill Peko - was expected to produce, over the next 16 years, between 150,000 and 170,000 ounces of gold a year with a lifetime production of about four million ounces - most of which would be exported.

At the mine's official opening, the Premier said he had been impressed by the level of perseverance and application that had been displayed by the joint venturers to develop what was an elusive ore body.

"The fact that the State's most significant 'greenfield' gold discovery in five years could be made in an area which has been worked over for a century confirms suspicions held by many people that there is a lot of gold still to be discovered in Western Australia," Mr Court said.

"The development has already seen the investment of approximately $80 million and is scheduled to absorb a total of $200 million during the next few years.

"This sort of investment firmly underpins growth in the gold mining sector as a whole.

"For the Eastern Goldfields, and for the State's gold mining industry generally, there is no doubt that this development provides a much-needed spark at a critical time.

"Only three years ago, the gold sector was going through tough times.  The combination of a slipping gold price, steadily rising costs, a desultory outlook for the world economy and a slack equities market, meant there existed little incentive for major new exploration programs."

Mr Court said that circumstances were changing and a buoyant gold sector lifted the confidence of individuals and businesses generally.

"The Coalition Government is well aware that the mining industry is the foundation of our State's economy," the Premier said.

"Investment is built on certainty and confidence, and the Government is implementing a prudent set of initiatives to facilitate further resources development in Western Australia.

"The good news is that Western Australia continues to attract the lion's share of exploration expenditure in this country. 

"During the past year, more than half of the $620 million spent in Australia on mineral exploration had been spent in Western Australia.

"The even better news is that mineral exploration expenditure in the last June quarter was at its highest level for five years, with companies spending $95.8 million.

"This compares very favourably with the previous high of $106.3 million in December 1988."

In the gold sector, Western Australia was responsible for three-quarters of the nation's annual gold pour and the expertise of local refineries was being tapped to process a growing proportion of gold from overseas mines.