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Paulsens
Location
	Paulsens Gold Mine Location in Western Australia
Location	Pannawonica
State	Western Australia
Country	Australia
Coordinates	22°34′53″S 116°14′29″E / 22.58139°S 116.24139°E
Production
Products	Gold
Production	0
Financial year	2020–21
History
Opened	June 2005
Closed	2017
Owner
Company	Black Cat Syndicate
Website	www.blackcatsyndicate.com.au
Year of acquisition	2022

The Paulsens Gold Mine is a gold mine located 105 km south of Pannawonica, Western Australia, within the pastoral lease of the Mount Stuart Station.^[2] It is fully owned by Black Cat Syndicate, having purchased the mine from Northern Star Resources in June 2022. Production at the mine was halted in December 2017 and is currently in care and maintenance.

It is located within the Ashburton Mineral Field of Western Australia.

History

The Paulsens Deposit was discovered and mined in the early 1930s and was then called the Melrose Mine.^[3]

A feasibility study was completed out by Taipan Resources NL in 1999, but a review continued until 2001, when St Barbara Limited purchased 88% of Taipan.^[4]

The Paulsens mine was developed by the NuStar Mining Corporation, which came into existence through a merger of Taipan Resources NL with St Barbara Limited in 2004, but as a separate entity of the latter.^[5] In 1999, Taipan had completed a pre-feasibility study and, in 2001–02, a follow-up review was carried out.^[3] Shortly after the merger, in May 2004, development of the mine commenced. St Barbara sold their interest in the mine in 2005 to be able to finance its purchase of the gold division of insolvent mining company Sons of Gwalia.

A year later, on 25 May 2005, commissioning of the Paulsens process plant commenced and, in June 2005, the first gold ingot was poured.

In June 2006, NuStar Mining Corporation merged with Intrepid Minerals Corporation to form Intrepid Mines Limited, a company listed both on the Australian Securities Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Intrepid Mines Limited in turn merged with Emperor Mines Limited in March 2008.^[6] The company's Australian headquarters are in Brisbane.^[7]

In July 2010, Northern Star Resources purchased the mine for A$40 million from Intrepid.^[8]

On 15 November 2015, Adam Perttula (28), a jumbo drilling offsider, collapsed underground in hot conditions at the mine, and died the next day. Northern Star was fined A$90,000 in 2017 for his death.^[9]^[10]

In December 2017, Northern Star halted production at the mine and relocated staff to other operations, placing the mine into care and maintenance.^[11]

Mine

The Paulsens mine has 140 employees.^[7] Ore is mined in underground operations along two headings and treated on-site.^[12] The ore could also have been mined through open-cut mining but NuStar decided on an underground approach because of its lower establishment costs and an earlier positive cash flow.^[2] The mine has a production target of 70,000 to 80,000 ounces per annum with a throughput of approximately 320,000 tonnes of ore per annum.

A number of the components of the plant were second-hand, including a ball mill from the Higginsville Gold Mine.^[2]

In December 2008, the mine delivered the final ounces under existing hedge arrangements at A$627, now allowing the mine to enjoy full exposure to the spot gold price.^[13]

The mine was expected to cease production in early 2010, when its currently known resources were depleted. Intrepid was aiming to extend the mine life by further exploration drilling. In the first half of 2009, the mine has produced 44,656 ounces of gold. The plant was placed in care and maintenance in February 2010, but recommenced production in June.^[14]

Intrepid sold the mine to Northern Star Resources in July 2010 for A$40 million.^[15] In June 2022 the mine was sold to Black Cat Syndicate as part of a package of assets which also included the Coyote Gold Mine. Exploration for new resources is scheduled to commence in September 2022.^[16]

Production

Annual production of the mine:^[17]^[18]^[1]^[19]

Year	Production	Grade	Cost per ounce
2004–05	7,358 ounces	10.1 g/t
2005–06	78,848 ounces	8.6 g/t
2006–07	64,408 ounces	6.6 g/t
2007–08	81,172 ounces	8.3 g/t
2008–09	75,368 ounces	6.8 g/t
2009–10	48,587 ounces	6.8 g/t
2010–11	86,522 ounces	10 g/t
2011–12	67,206 ounces	6.6 g/t
2012–13	88,603 ounces	7.2 g/t
2013–14	100,041 ounces	7.4 g/t
2014–15	74,999 ounces	5.4 g/t
2015–16	80,742 ounces	7.2 g/t	A$1,099
2016–17	55,490 ounces	4.6 g/t	A$1,455
2017–18	22,436 ounces	4.6 g/t	A$1,450
2018–present	Inactive

References

^ ^a ^b "2021 Annual Report". www.nsrltd.com. Northern Star Resources. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Paulsens pours first gold ferret.com.au, retrieved 2009-08-02
^ ^a ^b History & Tenements NuStar Mining website, retrieved 2009-08-02
^ The Australian Mines Handbook - 2003-04 Edition page: 119
^ Corporate History Timeline Intrepid Mines website, retrieved 2009-08-02
^ History Intrepid Mines website, retrieved 2009-08-02
^ ^a ^b Fast facts Intrepid Mines website, retrieved 2009-08-02
^ Mills, Michael (30 June 2010). "Intrepid sells Paulsens gold mine to Northern Star for revised offer". Australian Mining. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ "Contractor dies at Northern Star Resources' Paulsens gold mine". Perth Now. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ Perera, Alicia (30 June 2017). "Northern Star's $90,000 fine over miner's death after collapse at hot Paulsens mine". Pilbara News. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ "December 2017 Quarterly Activities Report". minedocs.com. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ Paulsens Intrepid Mines website, retrieved 2009-08-02
^ Intrepid Mine's shares leap on gold hedge book closure retrieved 2009-08-02
^ Quarterly report June 2010 Intrepid ASX announcement, published: 28 July 2010, accessed: 29 July 2010
^ Sale of Paulsens to NST approved by Intrepid Northern Star ASX announcement, published: 21 July 2010, accessed: 29 July 2010
^ Chan, Ray (16 June 2022). "Black Cat prowls for more gold". Australian Mining. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
^ "Northern Star Paulsens Gold Operations Fact Sheet" (PDF). minedocs.com. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ "2018 Annual Report". www.nsrltd.com. Northern Star Resources. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
^ "Paulsens Mine". Mining Data Solutions. Retrieved 8 April 2022.