00:00This is the Tanamai Gold Mine, about 550 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs.
00:20Each year it produces around 400,000 ounces, or more than 11,000 kilograms, of gold.
00:29The production is set to dramatically increase, with the construction of a new hoist to pull
00:34up ore from underground.
00:38This shaft is designed to produce 3.8 million tonnes a year.
00:43At the moment the mine, with its truck haulage system, produces 2.7 million tonnes a year,
00:48so we're going to gain an extra million tonnes a year.
00:50That's significantly reduced operating costs to new mining.
00:57Grant Brinkman is responsible for the mine's expansion.
01:01His employer, Global Gold Miner Newmont Corporation, is increasing production because gold is hot
01:08right now.
01:09Prices have been climbing over the past year, and sit at, or near, record highs.
01:16The expansion includes the development of a mechanised underground crushing system, so
01:21up to 28 tonnes of crushed ore per skip, can be hoisted to the surface using the shaft.
01:27The new haulage system will save a lot of time.
01:32The existing truck haulage system, trucks take about, it's about a three hour return trip
01:35to drive underground, pick up a load of rock and come back.
01:39This shaft system behind me, you'll see it can hoist an equivalent amount of rock in the space
01:46of about two and a half minutes.
01:49The roads underground here are quite dark.
01:51There's lots of sharp corners, and they're not very wide, so there's lots of congestion
01:55on the road.
01:56So when that shaft is finished, it's going to be more efficient and safe for those people
02:01working here.
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