PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Swiss-listed Xstrata has started openpit mining at its A$124-million Mount Margaret copper project, in north-west Queensland.
“Mount Margaret will add around 30 000 t of annual copper production to Ernest Henry over a five-year period, strengthening the economics of the complex and taking immediate advantage of the available installed capacity of the concentrator and associated infrastructure,” said Ernest Henry GM Myles Johnston.
Ore from the Mount Margaret project would be trucked to the Ernest Henry mining operation, and would be processed through the existing concentrator. First ore was expected by the end of August.
“In total, the project will add an additional 20-million tons of ore to our existing ore production profile throughout its five-year life, producing around 140 000 t of copper, 83 000 oz of gold and 560 000 t of magnetite in concentrate over that time,” said Johnston.
He noted that Xstrata Copper was also planning further exploration at Mount Margaret to identify additional ore resources for future development.
Xstrata Copper acquired the E1 and Monakoff copper tenements that make up the Mount Margaret project from Exco Resources in June last year for A$175-million. The respective tenements are located some 8 km east and 21 km south of Ernest Henry, and were being developed through a series of small openpit mines.
Johnston said that the Mount Margaret project would create at least 300 full-time jobs in the region, in addition to the 330 construction jobs and 400 full-time jobs generated by the transition from openpit to underground mining, and by magnetite processing at Ernest Henry.
“This project demonstrates our commitment to continue investing in North Queensland and follows our decision in 2009 to invest A$589-million to transition Ernest Henry beyond the life of the openpit to underground mining, and construct an associated magnetite plant, extending its life to 2024 and ensuring we continue to provide significant economic benefits to the region and the state,” said Xstrata Copper North Queensland CFO Steve de Kruijff.
“Our mining operations in the Cloncurry region are an important part of our integrated North Queensland business, which last year contributed almost A$1.6-billion to the Queensland economy and employed nearly 4 000 people.”
