One pit swallowing the richest square mile of gold ground on Earth
The Fimiston Open Pit on the edge of Kalgoorlie, 3.5 kilometres long, 1.6 wide and over 675 metres deep, cut out of the Golden Mile, the richest square mile of gold-bearing ground ever found. It exists because somebody bought up the old leases: the Golden Mile was a warren of separate underground mines with names like Paringa, Oroya, Brown Hill, Chaffers and Hainault, and the idea of joining them into one pit was first attempted by Alan Bond, who could not finish it. Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines completed the consolidation in 1989. It was Australia’s largest open cut gold mine until Boddington passed it in late 2015, produced 456,000 ounces in 2019, and employs around 1,100 people. There is a public lookout on the rim, and the blasting schedule is posted.
Western Australia
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