Tropicana, Australia

Overview and locality

Tropicana is a joint venture between AngloGold Ashanti Australia Ltd (70%), which manages the operation, and Regis Resources Ltd (30%).

Open pit and underground mining is carried out by Macmahon under an alliance contract. Open pit mining uses conventional drill and blast and load and haul methods, while underground mining uses jumbo development and mechanised open stoping. Since start-up, ore has been sourced from the Tropicana, Havana, Havana South and Boston Shaker pits. From 2021-2023 the Boston Shaker pit will be the main source of open cut ore while a major cutback of the Havana pit is carried out. Open pit material will be supplemented by approximately 1.2 Mtpa of ore mined from the Boston Shaker underground mine, and stockpiles.

The Tropicana processing plant has achieved a throughput capacity of between 8-9 Mtpa following several upgrades, including the installation of a second ball mill. The processing plant comprises a three-stage crushing circuit, inclusive of energy-efficient high-pressure grinding rolls, followed by conventional ball mill grinding and CIL recovery.

Tropicana’s infrastructure includes a gas-fired power station, sealed airstrip, workshops, two borefields, a tailings facility and a modern village complex.

A brief history

• Open pit mining began during 2012 with first gold production occurring during September 2013.
• Underground mining began in 2019 at Boston Shaker after a positive feasibility study.
• Tropicana reached the 3Moz produced milestone during the first quarter of 2020.
• First stoping in the Boston Shaker underground mine occurred in June 2020 and the mine achieved commercial production in September 2020.
• On 22 April 2021, Regis Resources acquired the 30% stake in Tropicana from IGO.