Their professional hopes and dreams came true when Tomingley Gold Operations (TGO) won the title of Mining Operation of the Year.

Alkane Resources, the proud owner of TGO,  attributes the win to multiple factors including involvement in the community.

Managing director Nic Earner was on hand for the big announcement at the ceremony in Sydney. He said the award reflected the effort of the TGO workforce, contractors and “the extent to which the operation had become part of the local community”.

“The mine employs locals, many of whom we’ve trained to be part of the operation, and we have also given importance to the local environment and community events as part of our operations,” he said.

TGO secured the accolade because it improved its fleet, introduced a mobile crushing plant to increase throughput and productivity, and continually searched for high-grade ore.

It has invested in Tomingley’s community hall, streets, racecourse and recreation reserve, and a top-up water supply to the village from a bore water supply line.

State Member for Dubbo Troy Grant joined the miners at the awards ceremony and summed up the reasons for their success.

“Innovative ideas to increase productivity, local infrastructure improvements, environmental protection, high levels of staff training and support of the local community all contributed to their award,” he said.

The four-year-old and $120 million TGO has employed almost 170 people, including casuals. It will cease open-cut mining in the September quarter, as intended. Underground mining has not been ruled out.

In 2016/2017 the TGO  produced 69,000 ounces of gold, achieving revenue of $117.3m and profit before tax and non-recurring items of $17.1m. The TGO has helped Alkance Resources develop its yet-to-be-built $1.3 billion Dubbo Project at Toongi.