Norton Gold Fields Opens Enterprise Gold Mine in Western Australia

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Australia (Perth, Australia)--Norton Gold Fields Limited (ASX:NGF) has officially opened the Enterprise open pit gold mine. The open pit is near the township of Kalgoorlie, roughly 600 kilometres from Perth, Western Australia.

Norton had announced earlier in the year that it planned to invest $40 million in mining activity at the Enterprise open pit, which will be used as a higher-grade baseload for the Paddington Mill processing plant. The gold ore will be transported approximately 40 kilometres via road to be processed at the central Paddington Mill processing plant, which is currently capable of handling production requirements.

The Enterprise project will contribute an estimated 110,000 ounces per annum to Norton's growing gold production profile. The reserves from Enterprise will provide the bulk of the ore for the company's 3.3 million-tonne-per-annum Paddington Mill. Along with the Enterprise pit, Industrial Info is tracking project activity at the Paddington Mine; however, the current focus is on the Enterprise project.

"With a higher grade than the current baseload operation, Enterprise will allow us to both increase the Paddington operation's gold production and, at the same time, reduce unit production costs," said Dianmin Chen, the managing director and chief executive of Norton.

Another advantage for Norton is that equipment that will be utilized for mining operations will be from the owner-operated fleet. Earlier in 2013, an investment of $38 million was used to purchase the mining fleet to replace the hired equipment.

The company is exploring underground options for the Enterprise site. As announced by Chen, "a definitive feasibility study is under way to explore the potential for underground mining. We expect this will present further growth opportunities down the line."

The life of the mine has been estimated to be about five years, based on inferred studies.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.