We set off for Kalgoorlie today passing Lake Cowan and Lake Lefroy and passing through a little place called Widgiemooltha. We turned off about 57 kms before Coolgardie and went through Kambalda which was founded in 1987 as a gold mining town during the gold rush frenzy but was deserted by 1908. Now it is a nickel and gold mining town.
We continued on to Kalgoorlie and we were surprised at how neat and tidy it is. It is called Kalgoorlie/Boulder or Boulder/Kalgoorlie depending which side of town you are on. Population is around 30,000. First thing we did was refuel with diesel at 152.9 cents per litre but we had a 4c voucher from a tourist book so got it a bit cheaper. We booked into the caravan park for two nights and then set off to explore. First stop was the Tourist Information Centre in Hannan Street where we got a list of things to do and see. Peter was particularly interested in the mine so we booked a tour for the next morning. We enjoyed seeing the very old buildings some of which (in Boulder town centre) had been damaged in an earthquake last year.
One of the big dump trucks
Next morning we set off for our mine tour. Thank goodness we were in an air conditioned bus as we had to wear long pants, long sleeves and closed in shoes. We set off to the Super Pit which is the gold mine run by Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) and is one of the biggest working open cast mines in the southern hemisphere. There used to be lots of individual mines and Alan Bond (yes THAT Alan Bond) bought them all up but then had some difficulties and they were taken over by KCGM. The tour was absolutely amazing. The mine goes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and has some amazing huge vechicles. Some of dump trucks are huge and when they stop at a give way sign they have to swing right as they have a 50 metre blind spot. There were a lot of young women working in the mine and driving the trucks. We were told that all you need is a heavy rigid licence and then the mine trains you (with simulators) to drive all the vehicles that are used in the mine. The workers in the mine rotate through all the different jobs which would be good as driving the trucks would get very monotonous. You can earn $120,000 a year which is not bad for unskilled workers.
The Super Pit
As we drove through the different parts of the mine the tour guide gave us a running commentary. Then when we got to the super pit we got out of the bus at a viewing station. The super pit was just amazing (I am using that word quite a bit but it is the only one that suits). This big hole in the ground with roads leading up out of it and dump trunks going down empty and coming up full. When they are empty they can do around 50kmh but can only do 12 kmh when they are full. The trucks don't stop unless they need to go in for servicing or repair. When the driver stops for a break another person takes over the truck. One truck has been painted pink for breast cancer awareness and one blue for prostate cancer awareness. The trucks are loaded by a loader which weighs 700 tonnes and it can pick up 60 tonnes in one scoopful. The trucks can hold about 230 tonne. The tour went for 2.5 hours and we got to drive through the processing area and saw the crushers and the steel balls that roll around inside the crushers breaking down the rocks. They usually do blasting at 1pm but is was too windy on the day we were there so the blast was cancelled. They try to minimise the dust that blows onto the town so they don't blast on days that are too windy. We were also told that on days where there is lightning everyone has to leave the super pit in case the lightening sets off the explosives. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone going to Kalgoorlie.
One of the dump trucks dropping off its load
In the afternoon we went to the Super Pit Lookout which overlooks the mine. You can see all the old shafts and holes of the old mines and the pit has piles of wood and steel that they pull out from these old mines. They can't be recycled at the old miners used arsenic to treat the wood so they are just buried on site.
We then went to the museum which was very new and very well set out. You could take a lift to the top of the mine shaft rigging which was over the museum and the views across Kalgoorlie were amazing.
Tomorrow we are heading to Esperence.
cheers
Pete and Roz
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