NEWS
RELEASE
Cloncurry,
26 November 2007
XSTRATA COPPER ANNOUNCES
DEVELOPMENT OF
AUD26 MILLION UNDERGROUND DECLINE AND INITIAL UNDERGROUND PRODUCTION AT ERNEST HENRY
MINE
Xstrata
Copper announces investment of AUD26 million on the development of an
underground decline at its Ernest Henry open-pit copper-gold mine near
Cloncurry as part of the company’s plans to potentially extend the life
of mine by converting the open pit to an underground mine.
Xstrata
Copper North Queensland Chief Operating Officer, Mr Steve de Kruijff, said he
was pleased to be announcing this important project.
“This
is a significant commitment by Xstrata Copper to the ongoing sustainability of
the Ernest Henry Mine (EHM) and the Cloncurry community. Xstrata has a clear
commitment to continuing to look for strategic opportunities to grow and
improve our operations in north Queensland,”
said Mr de Kruijff.
A pre-feasibility study to convert the current
open-pit operation to an underground operation was commissioned by Xstrata
Copper in late 2006.
“The Xstrata Copper Board recently
reviewed the recommendations from the pre-feasibility study and approved
investment of AUD26 million over 2008 and 2009 to develop the Stage 1 decline,”
he said.
“Construction of the decline is likely to
commence in February next year, with around 75,000 tonnes of copper in
concentrate expected from underground production during 2011-12.
“A further feasibility study to evaluate the
viability of full scale underground mining operations at Ernest Henry Mine will
start in early 2008 and run in parallel with the development of the Stage 1
decline,” said Mr.. de Kruijff.
“We expect the construction of the
decline to be completed in early 2009,” he said.
EHM General Manager, Mr Mike Westerman, said it
was an exciting step for the company and they were now preparing for the work
ahead of them.
"The Ernest Henry deposit is known to
extend more than 400 metres below the final Stage 7 open pit. Scoping studies
completed in 2005 indicated that the resource below the pit has the potential
to be a viable underground operation, and recommended further evaluation,”
said Mr Westerman.
The scope of the pre-feasibility study included
diamond drilling to confirm extensions to the orebody and continuity at depth,
and an evaluation of the optimal mining method and detailed scheduling for
access and eventual production. These results allowed a financial analysis of
the project with a positive result.
The analysis and report included a
recommendation that an early commitment to developing the first stage of a
decline, that could be used for a variety of scales of underground operation,
would minimise the production gap between the end of treating open pit
stockpiles and a ramp up to full scale underground production.
“This
decline development was tendered to eight mining contractors resulting in a
recommendation to award the contract for this work to Barminco.
“Barminco
was rated the highest in the evaluation criteria including safety performance, industry
reputation and overall competitiveness. They have demonstrated a good
track record at other project sites and have a significant presence in the area
with an owner-operator mine at Eloise and provision of mining contracting services
to other mines in the area,” he said.
The EHM
decline will entail approximately 3.2 kilometres of development and ventilation
connections. It is anticipated that around 35 people will be working full-time
on the project for its duration.
Ends
Xstrata Copper Contacts
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Melanie Edgar
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Andrew
Upfill
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Telephone
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+61 7 4744 2832
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Telephone
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+61 7 4769 4524
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Mobile
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+61 423 820 701
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Mobile
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+61 409 866 823
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Email
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medgar@xstratacopper.com.au
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Email
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aupfill@xstratacopper.com.au
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ABOUT XSTRATA PLC
Xstrata is a global diversified mining group, listed on the London and Swiss Stock Exchanges, with its headquarters in
Zug, Switzerland. Xstrata’s businesses
maintain a meaningful position in seven major international commodity markets:
copper, coking coal, thermal coal, ferrochrome, nickel, vanadium and zinc, with
additional exposures to platinum group metals, gold, cobalt, lead and silver,
recycling facilities and a suite of global technology products, many of which
are industry leaders. The Group's operations and projects span 18 countries: Argentina, Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Chile,
Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Germany,
New Caledonia, Norway,
Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines,
South Africa, Spain, Tanzania,
the USA and the UK.
Xstrata employs approximately 50,000 people, including contractors.
ABOUT XSTRATA COPPER
Headquartered in Brisbane,
Xstrata Copper is one of the commodity business units within the major global
diversified mining group Xstrata plc. Its operations and projects span eight
countries: Australia, Argentina, Chile,
Peru, Canada, the USA,
the Philippines and Papua New Guinea.
Its operations are administered by five separate divisions, based close to the
mining operations, namely the North Queensland, Alumbrera, North Chile,
Southern Peru and Canada
divisions. It also has a recycling business (Xstrata Recycling) with
plants in the United States
and offices in Canada and Asia.
Xstrata Copper is the fourth largest global copper producer with
annual managed production of over one million tonnes.
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