OZ Minerals has approved a US$436 million investment for the construction of a lifting shaft at the Prominent Hill copper-gold mine. The expansion project is expected to extend the life of the mine by six years to 2036, with an annual output of 6 million tons (Mtpa).
Currently, Prominent Hill is producing 4.5Mtpa from an underground mine. Starting in 2022, the output is expected to increase to between 4.5 and 5Mtpa by truck transportation. The mine started operations as an open-pit mine in 2009. It was converted to underground passage only in 2018.
According to OZ Minerals, the Wira mine investment will increase annual copper production by nearly 23%. The company expects to begin sinking the Wira shaft in the first quarter of 2022, and plans to complete it in 2024. OZ Minerals said that the lifting shaft will allow people to obtain mineral resources outside of the current trucking mine plan. The shaft is expected to go online in 2025, when the stock ore of the original open-pit mine is expected to be completely exhausted.
Andrew Cole, CEO of OZ Minerals, said: "Prominent Hill is a high-quality ore body and remains open deep. The reliable performance of operations and its consistent resource-to-reserve conversion rate have an impact on decision-making."
Keywords: mining, international engineering news
The shaft expansion creates an exciting new future for Prominent Hill, extending mine life and productivity, enabling investment to reduce emissions and other OZ Minerals environmental and labor aspirations.Editor/Baohongying
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