Historic Great Fingall Mine outside Cue in the Murchison goes deeper than ever before

A historic mine outside of Cue in the Murchison is reaching depths not seen for more than a century.

Great Fingall Mine was once a mass producer of gold in the region, harvesting 1.2 million ounces of gold from 1.9 million tonnes of ore between 1891 and 1918. While the mine was also operational between 1998 and 2018, the gold reef at depth has remained untouched by modern mining techniques.

Westgold Resources confirmed it had fired its first high-grade stope, which is used to access virgin areas of the reef.

Grades from the first stoping averaged between 3g and 4g of gold per tonne of ore.

Westgold acquired the mine in 2011 during its takeover of Aragon Resources. The company aims to mine 45,000oz of gold a year at Great Fingall, 5km out of Cue, once it reaches full production.

Westgold managing director and CEO Wayne Bramwell said Great Fingall’s revitalisation was an essential part of the company’s investment in the Murchison area.

“The recommencement of stoping at Great Fingall is a proud achievement for all at Westgold and the Western Australian underground mining community,” Mr Bramwell said.

Barminco has been awarded the contract for underground mining services at Great Fingall on a three-year contract valued at $200 million. This includes underground development, production, and related mining services.