Four men have faced the Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court today charged over an alleged attempt to steal gold-bearing dust from a mining operation in Western Australia's Goldfields.
Martin John Scott, Aaron Janus Morgan and Nils Boomsma, who are all aged 43, and Robert Allan Edwards, 34, each made brief appearances in court charged with attempted stealing and trespassing.
Police allege the men were trying to collect gold-bearing dust from the Jubilee mill, 35 kilometres south-east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, on March 10.
Legal Aid WA lawyer Pamela Oram told the court that she did not know the estimated value of the gold-bearing dust that police alleged had been targeted.
The group appeared separately and did not enter pleas, with three of the men granted bail extensions until April 24.
Mr Boomsma's case was adjourned until May 15.
The court will relax his bail conditions between April 14 and May 12 to allow him to visit his father in the Netherlands.
The Jubilee mill is owned by gold miner Northern Star Resources and had operated continuously from 1987 until it was placed on care and maintenance in August last year.
Despite its closure, there are still mining personnel working on the South Kalgoorlie site at the Hampton-Boulder-Jubilee (HBJ) underground gold mine.
Seperate case
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter today, a 49-year-man pleaded not guilty in Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court to four counts of stealing related to the alleged theft of gold-bearing material in the northern Goldfields.
Shane Steven Hodgson and co-accused are alleged to have committed the offences on four separate occasions at Kookynie between January 19 and February 9 this year.
He is due to reappear in court on May 22.
The latest alleged gold stealing cases come after prices for the precious metal hit all-time highs last week, surpassing $3,000 an ounce for the first time in Australian dollar terms.
