Name of the Mine
Chatree mine.

Location  
About 280 km north of Bangkok, in Thailand, and straddles the Phichit and Phetchabun provinces.

Mine Owner/s  
Akara Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingsgate Consolidated.

Brief Description  
Chatree is Thailand’s first and biggest modern gold mine. The mine comprises the Chatree South orefield, which began commercial production in November 2001, and the Chatree North orefield, which began production in November 2008. The mine also includes the Chatree processing plants.

Brief History  
Chatree started commercial operations in November 2001.

However, in May 2016, the Thai government announced that all gold mining in Thailand would cease by the end of 2016.

As a result, Chatree was placed on care and maintenance on January 1, 2017.

Kingsgate challenged the closure of operations, and took legal action in accordance with its rights under the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement. In 2022, positive negotiations with the Thai government led to key developments and approvals to permit Akara to prepare for a restart of its Chatree operations.

The Thailand Department of Primary Industries and Mines approved the reopening of the Chatree mine in March 2023.

Primary Metals/Minerals  
Gold.

Secondary Metals/Minerals  
Silver.

Geology/Mineralisation  
The Chatree deposit is located between the Phichit and Phetchabun provinces, in central Thailand, and is hosted by Late Permian to Early Triassic volcaniclastic and volcanogenic sedimentary rocks.

Kingsgate notes in a mineral resources and reserves update that the mine is  an  unusual  low-sulphidation  epithermal  gold/silver  deposit  in  the  Loei–  Phetchabun  volcanic  belt,  in  central  Thailand.  The  deposit spans 2.5 km × 7.5 km and comprises eight vein zones, five of which were mined using openpit methods. 

The  low-sulphidation  epithermal  gold/silver  deposit  occurs as  veins,  stockworks  and  minor  breccias,  hosted  by  a  volcanic  and  volcanogenic  sedimentary facies. The main gold/silver mineralisation is characterised by colloform–crustiform-banded quartz ± carbonate ± chlorite ± adularia–sulphide–electrum  veins.  Gold  mainly  occurs  as  electrum,  as  free  grains  associated  with  quartz,  carbonate  minerals  and  chlorite;  and  as  inclusions  in  sulphides, mostly pyrite, Kingsgate explains.

Oxidisation  and  broad  stratigraphic  types  control  the  gross  distribution  of  gold  and  silver  mineralisation,  with  specific  geological  units  providing  preferred  mineralisation  hosts. 

Reserves  
Total proven and probable reserves as at June 30, 2022, were estimated at 52-million tonnes grading 0.78 g/t gold and 7.4 g/t silver.

Resources  
Total measured, indicated and inferred resources as at June 30, 20022, were estimated at 163.6-million tonnes grading 0.65 g/t gold and 5.6 g/t silver.

Mining Method  
Openpit.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment  
Chatree includes two carbon-in-leach processing plants, tailings storage facilities, and two water reservoirs.

Power is supplied through a dedicated substation and two 22 kV lines.

Prospects  
The existing nine-year life-of-mine supports steady-state gold production of 100 000 oz/y, based only on reserves.

Contact Details
Akara Resources
Tel +66 5661 4500
Email admincgm@akararesources.com

Kingsgate Consolidated
Tel +61 2 8256 4800
Email info@kingsgate.com.au

Sources
Akara Resources. Website: https://www.akararesources.com.
Akara Resources. Technical review of the Chatree gold project (September 6, 2013).

Kingsgate Consolidated. Website: https://www.kingsgate.com.au/.
Kingsgate Consolidated. Kingsgate Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves 2021 (October 7, 2021).
Kingsgate Consolidated. Equity raising presentation (March 2023).