A court has been told that most of the estimated $275,000 in gold stolen in an armed robbery at a Western Australian gold mine two years ago has never been recovered. 

In the Kalgoorlie District Court today, Adam Shaun Ritchie, who has links to the Gypsy Joker outlaw motorcycle cang, was jailed for six years over his role in the heist at the Beta Hunt mine near Kambalda. 

Ritchie was one of four men, one of whom was armed with a sawn-off rifle, who made off with about 85 kilograms of raw gold ore and a two-tonne safe in the night-time raid.

The court heard only 20 ounces, which police were able to forensically link to the geology at Beta Hunt, has been recovered. The firearm has not been found.

Ritchie initially pleaded not guilty to aggravated burglary and stealing charges in September 2020 but changed his plea last month, just three weeks before he was due to face trial.

The New Zealand-born former driller, who has been in custody at Haken Prison since January, was told he would serve at least four years behind bars before being eligible for parole.

Two of his co-accused, 29-year-old Thomas Luke Gibbons and 33-year-old James Daniel Pugh, have pleaded not guilty and are due back in the Kalgoorlie District Court on July 20.

A fourth suspect who was captured by CCTV cameras at the mine has never been identified.

Where is the rest of the gold?

Judge Carmel Barbagallo told the court she had read a letter from Ritchie expressing his remorse, but she found it hard to accept given he would not cooperate with police to aid in the recovery of the missing gold or firearm.

"I'm instructed he's not aware of its location," defence lawyer Zoe Gilders said.

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During sentencing, she specifically addressed Ritchie on the issue of remorse.

"You've had every opportunity to provide information about that firearm to get it off the streets, but you've failed to do that," she said.

She added: "In a community like Kalgoorlie there needs to be a strong message to deter others who might be thinking about doing the same thing."

Judge Barbagallo said she watched 30 minutes of CCTV footage captured at the mine site.

She noted the heist showed "premeditation" and "planning" as the group drove straight up to the sea container that had the gold locked inside.

'Well organised and premeditated'

The security cameras showed the group arriving in a dual-cab ute with a hydraulic lift on the back.

They used an angle grinder to cut through the lock on the sea container and loaded up the available gold specimens in buckets, before using an oxyacetylene welding torch from the mine's workshop to try and cut open the safe.

They failed, and so used a nearby forklift to lift it onto the back of a four-wheel-drive utility.

The robbery took around 30 minutes and the group left the mine around 10.20pm while there were workers underground at Beta Hunt.

Prosecutor Jaz Walsh described it as a "well organised and premeditated" attempt.

He said Ritchie had taken steps to process the gold by buying a supply of hydrochloric acid.

The court was told the burnt-out remains of the stolen LandCruiser and the safe were found on Woolibar Station, a pastoral property between Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Kambalda, two days after the robbery on April 26, 2020.

The court heard police focused on the area after a prospector reported hearing explosions in the vicinity.

Mr Walsh told the court the safe was empty when the thieves stole it.

Plea changed after seeing CCTV

Ms Gilders told the court that Ritchie was under significant financial stress at the time after being placed on JobKeeper and he saw it as a "quick fix".

She told the court that while Ritchie "played a role", the robbery was "not his idea".

Ms Gilders did admit however, that Ritchie was "clearly recognisable" on the CCTV vision despite wearing a balaclava.

"He had not seen the CCTV until May 6," Ms Gilders replied.

"Did he need that to know what he did?" the judge asked.

Judge orders compensation

The court heard Ritchie, who was working for a drilling company in Boulder before his arrest, had hidden his share of the gold in a laptop bag at his workplace.

Police also allege that they recovered gold from Mr Gibbons' house in Boulder, Mr Pugh's workshop and from a Kalgoorlie gold buyer that was sold gold in quartz by Mr Gibbons.

The court was told that Ritchie was also captured by CCTV cameras buying discs for an angle grinder in the days before the robbery and that it was used to cut open the sea container.

Judge Barbagallo ordered compensation to the tune of $327,000 be paid to the mine owners, Karora Resources, and HMR Drilling, which had its $52,000 LandCruiser stolen from the mine site and torched.

Ritchie's sentence comprised four years on the aggravated burglary charge, which carried a maximum penalty of 20 years.

He received a further two years' jail for the gold stealing charge, and one year for stealing the LandCruiser, which will be served concurrently.