Norton Gold Fields has reached a major milestone, pouring its one millionth ounce of gold from the Paddington gold mine.
The company said the pour signifies in the order of 4.7 million ounces of gold extracted from Paddington since it was first opened in 1985, representing close to 30 years of continuous operations.
Norton took over the operation of Paddington, located 35km north-west of Kalgoorlie, in 2007 from Barrick Gold.
“Nine years ago, Norton was a small exploration company with ambitions to become a significant mining house,” Norton CEO Dianmin Chen said.
“As we celebrate the production of our one millionth ounce of gold we pay tribute to the many employees who have worked safely over the years to achieve this historic milestone.”
Hoping to add to its portfolio, Norton is currently in a hostile takeover bid of Bullabulling Gold.
On April 17, Norton proposed a cash offer of 7 per share to acquire all the issued shares in Bullabulling Gold.
Yesterday, Bullabulling's board rejected the "inadequate and opportunistic" Norton offer, pointing to a BDO Corporate Finance report that described the bid as neither fair nor reasonable.
In a statement Bullabilling said the offer fails to recognise the potential of the Bullabulling gold project, located 60km from Kalgoorlie and with a resource estimate of 3.75 million ounces.
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