:: Placer Dome Looks to Shut Kundana Mill by Year-End
by Stephen Bell

With the jury still out on the worth of Placer Dome's AurionGold takeover late last year, the Canadian group is set to close its ageing Kundana mill as part of a cost cutting drive.

Peter Tomsett, Placer Dome's Asia Pacific managing director, said at Diggers & Dealers this week that the mothballing of the mill would happen in the second half of this year. "We don't need it for capacity and it is a very old, high cost mill," Tomsett said.

Placer Dome's Kalgoorlie operations, acquired in last year's hostile takeover bid, are under cost pressure because of the strengthening Australian dollar and rising fuel prices.

Placer Dome will likely close down Kundana in December, leaving the hungry Paddington mill as the sole treatment facility for the Kal West division.