BHP’s B11 block cave now fully operational

The B11 block cave at BHP’s (ASX:BHP) Nickel West operations in WA is now fully operational following the firing of the last drawbell last month.

This block cave is now one of Nickel West’s most innovative operations and it will be a sustaining producer of nickel at Leinster for around the next seven years.

BHP northern operations general manager Mike Moscarda says this will have a major impact on production at Leinster.

“This is a first for BHP and was a huge commitment for the business to take on,” he said.

“Now that it’s complete, it will contribute up to 50% of the ore in production at Leinster.”

An innovative mining method, block caving allows for safe, low cost continued production and reduces the impact of seismic activity in the workplace. It removes people from the most hazardous areas of the mine while remotely targeting the ore above.

BHP manager of mining at Leinster Brendon Shadlow says the block cave project began as a way to make mining more sustainable at B11.

“The mine had to close following some major seismic activity in 2013,” he said.  

“With the new block cave, we can safely and efficiently continue mining even in the event of seismic activity.”

The block cave will now be established as a technical centre and the learnings will help shape the future of mining techniques at Nickel West and beyond.

The B11 block cave is planned to recover over 80,000t of nickel.