 |
 |
 |
MRM Open Pit Development Environmental Assessment Process
MRM Open Pit Development
McArthur River Mining Pty Ltd is a company wholly-owned by global mining group Xstrata plc and is the operator of the McArthur River zinc mine. Our operation mines the 'Here's Your Chance' orebody which is one of the world's largest zinc and lead deposits.
Underground operations commenced in 1995. In October 2006, a development to convert the mine to open pit and extend its life by more than 20 years was approved. This development has approval to mine 43 million tonnes of the resource.
MRM is a 24 hour operation generating annual ore throughput of around 1.8 million tonnes to produce an average of 320,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of a single high grade bulk zinc/lead/silver concentrate. This comprises around 150,000 tonnes of zinc, 30,000 tonnes of lead and 1.2 million ounces of silver.
The concentrate is transported from the mine to the MRM-operated Bing
Bong loading facility by road. From there it is loaded onto a barge and
transported to waiting ships at sea in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
MRM is the largest bulk producer of zinc in concentrate form. We supply
70% of global demand for this feedstock which is used by Imperial Smelting
Process smelters in Europe and Asia to produce zinc and lead metal and
alloys.
Our production represents approximately 3% of the world's total zinc resources used by all types of smelters each year.
MRM Open Pit Development Environmental Assessment Process
In August 2005, MRM announced its intention to convert the underground zinc-lead mine at McArthur River to an open cut operation to enable the mine to continue production. An Environmental Impact Statement was lodged as part of a formal assessment process by the Northern Territory Government based on the Terms of Reference issued in 2003.
This was followed by the submission of an EIS Supplement (December 2005), Public Environmental Report (July 2006) and Mining Management Plan (September 2006).
The Northern Territory Government approved MRM's open pit development in October 2006. Later that same month, the Australian Government provided its consent under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999.
While the environmental assessment process was conducted, MRM commenced operating a test open pit. The first stage of this pit commenced in August 2005. This contributed ore for sampling and for processing as underground operations reduced. The test pit was subsequently extended in April 2006 when underground mining ceased.
Quick Facts
MRM commenced mining |
1995 |
Open pit development approval |
October 2006 |
Development cost |
AUD $110 million |
Mine life |
Estimated 21 years |
Resource to be mined |
43 million tonnes |
Production rate |
Current: 1.8 million tonnes per annum rising |
Product |
Current: 320,000 dmt (dry metric tonnes) per annum |
Mining |
Open pit mine using conventional drilling, blasting, horizontal bench scraping, loading and haulage methods. |
Processing |
Flotation process producing concentrates (average 46% Zn con grade) |
Transport |
Trucked to Bing Bong port, transferred to barge, then offshore loading onto ships within a designated Offshore Transfer Zone |
Export markets |
Poland, Romania, Japan, China |
Economic benefits - Northern Territory |
AUD $175 million contribution to Gross State Product |
Economic benefits – Australia |
AUD $271 million contribution to Gross Domestic Product |
Workforce |
Following completion of open pit development – 270 |
Test pit |
Length – 600 metres |
Open pit |
Length – 1.5 kilometres |
McArthur River diversion |
Length – 5.5 kilometres |
Barney Creek diversion |
Length – 3 kilometres |
Flood protection bund |
Maximum height – 24 metres |
Overburden (North OEF) |
Footprint – 255 hectares |
Tailings storage facility |
Total surface area – 210 hectares |
MV Aburri barge |
Length – 80 metres |
 |
 |