| Mine | Plutonic Gold Mine |
| Date | 2020 |
| Commodities | Gold |
| Status | Operating |
Executive Summary
The Plutonic Gold Mine has been in operation since August 1990, featuring a dual-process plant configuration designed to handle different ore types. The original process plant (PP1) was established for primary ore treatment, utilizing a jaw crusher, SAG mill, ball mill, and carbon adsorption circuit. A second process plant (PP2) was commissioned in 1996 to process oxide ore, sharing some initial crushing infrastructure but adding dedicated grinding and leaching capacity.
Operational history indicates a shift in processing strategy as oxide ore sources were exhausted by June 2004. While the crushing and milling components of PP2 were subsequently shut down, the leaching and carbon adsorption circuits were maintained in parallel with PP1 for a period to optimize recovery. Power management strategies led to the decommissioning of PP2 leaching tanks in 2008, with partial re-commissioning in 2010 to improve residence time before final decommissioning in late 2012.
Currently, the processing plant operates with integrated sections for crushing, grinding, leaching, carbon adsorption, carbon stripping, electrowinning, refining, and tailings management. The facility relies on a 16 MW gas power station, with additional gas sets added in 2014 and 2020 to support operations. The current configuration focuses on the treatment of primary ore through a consolidated circuit.
Reports
- entities/Plutonic_Gold_Mine
Website: https://catalystmetals.com.au/plutonic-gold-mine/
Report Date: 2020
Region:
Project Status: Operating
Commodity: Gold
Throughput:
Mine Life:
Mine Type:
Ore type:
Technical report and processing history
The following archived source profiles have been consolidated here to preserve the project’s processing history and study context.
Plutonic Dome Project — 2023 Technical Report
Plutonic Dome Project — 2023 Technical Report
| Company | Catalyst Metals Ltd |
| Date | 2023 |
Executive Summary
This report summarizes the metallurgical and technical status of the Plutonic Dome project. Historically, ore from the project deposits (including K1, K2, and Triple P) was processed at the neighbouring Marymia and Plutonic Gold Mine facilities. These plants historically employed conventional flowsheets including crushing, grinding, and Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) circuits to recover gold.
Currently, there is no proposed flowsheet due to a lack of sufficient metallurgical testwork. While scoping-level studies have been performed by various engineering firms between 1991 and 2020, recent technical assessments indicate that historical processing data is limited and potentially non-representative of the current Mineral Resources, which include non-oxide ore types. Further metallurgical testing is required to support higher-level process plant design.
Website: https://catalystmetals.com.au/plutonic-gold-mine/
Report Date: 2023
Region:
Project Status:
Commodity:
Throughput:
Mine Life:
Mine Type:
Ore type:
Plutonic Gold Mine — Technical Report
Plutonic Gold Mine — Technical Report
| Company | Plutonic Gold |
| Mine | Plutonic Gold Mine |
| Date | 2020 |
| Commodities | Gold |
| Status | Operating |
Executive Summary
The Plutonic Gold Mine has been in operation since August 1990. The original process plant (PP1) consisted of an open circuit jaw crusher, coarse ore stockpile, semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill, ball mill, two leach tanks, and six carbon adsorption tanks. A three-stage hard rock crushing circuit was incorporated in 1994, which included a fine ore bin and an additional ball mill. A second process plant (PP2) was added in 1996, utilizing the original PP1 jaw crusher and coarse ore stockpile, and adding SAG and ball mill, two additional leach tanks, and six additional carbon adsorption tanks.
In June 2004, oxide ore sources were exhausted, and the crushing and milling components of PP2 were shut down. However, the leach and carbon adsorption circuit of PP2 was run in parallel with the PP1 circuit until April 2008. At that time, the PP2 leach and carbon adsorption circuit was emptied, cleaned, and placed into care and maintenance to reduce site power load due to power restrictions caused by the June 2008 gas supply crisis. Four tanks from the PP2 circuit were re-commissioned in June 2010 to provide additional residence time, which improved gold recovery, but were decommissioned again in late 2012.
The primary sections of the processing plant currently in use include crushing and conveying, ore reclaim and grinding, leaching and carbon adsorption, carbon stripping, electrowinning, refining and carbon regeneration, tailings thickening, tailings deposition and storage, reagent mixing and handling, and plant services. The site also operates a 16 MW gas power station, with extra gas sets added in 2014 and 2020.
Processing Profile
Website: https://catalystmetals.com.au/plutonic-gold-mine/
Report Date: 2020
Region:
Project Status: Operating
Commodity: Gold
Throughput:
Mine Life:
Mine Type:
Ore type:
