Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) is planning to extend its current expansion program at the Super Pit gold mine near Kalgoorlie in the WA goldfields.
The plan would add seven years to the Super Pit's productive life.
The WA Government’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) revealed the plan in a statement on Tuesday.
Northern Star’s subsidiary, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines Pty Ltd, has lodged a proposal to widen and deepen the Super Pit where the company is already spending more than $1.5 billion on doubling the capacity of the huge mine.
The EPA said confirmed the expansion application. In it Northern Star wants to increase the area of the development to 7,795 hectares, up from the currently approved 5,914 hectares.
The proposed expansion includes widening and deepening the current pit, as well as scaling up the Fimiston II tailings storage facility and building a new Tailings Storage Facility.
The current expansion plan, is expected to more than double Fimiston's processing capacity from 13 million tonnes a year to 27 million and the self-funded program, which started just over a year ago, is due to be completed in 2026.
The company said last year that production across the Goldfields would ramp up from 2027 to 2028 to allow Northern Star to reach its target of 27 million tonnes a year by 2029.
